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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Emily Brett, Director of Greenpoint Hunger Program, on Funding for Community Food Connection Program
4:48:49
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131 sec
Emily Brett, Director of Greenpoint Hunger Program, passionately advocates for the restoration of $100 million in funding for the Community Food Connection (CFC) program in the next fiscal year. She emphasizes the growing demand for food assistance and the critical role of food security in community well-being and safety.
- Brett reports a 125% increase in clients at their pantry, with numbers continuing to rise
- She argues that hunger affects not just nutrition, but also mental health, dignity, and community cohesion
- Brett contrasts the proposed CFC budget with the NYPD budget, asserting that feeding people is more effective for public safety than increased policing
Emily Brett
4:48:49
Hi, my name is Emily Brett.
4:48:51
Thank you to the city council for this time today and for your persistence over five hours of testimony.
4:48:56
I'm the director of the Greenpoint Hunger Program under executive director Anne Kansfield and I'm here today to ask for the restoration of CFC's full $100,000,000 for the next fiscal year.
4:49:06
I know many of you already hold this opinion as well, but I'm here to preach to the choir on the record and encourage your continued aggressive advocacy.
4:49:14
Our lines are not as long as they were in 2024, they are longer and it does not make sense to duplicate a budget when we are no longer facing duplicate circumstances.
4:49:23
Our pantry has faced a 125% increase in clients and those numbers continue to rise.
4:49:29
Guests expressed to me that their need is growing and that they're anxious for what's to come.
4:49:34
We cannot continue to rely on the same amount of funding when we do not have the same number of guests.
4:49:39
Yesterday at my pantry we saw over a hundred guests, several of them families with young children.
4:49:45
Hunger is not just about nutrition, it's about mental health, it's about dignity, it's about the knowledge that someone in your community, whether it's a parent or a teacher or a member of your city council cares about you and wants you to be here.
4:49:59
And to that end, I would express to this council that a denial of CFC's full $100,000,000 funding is a choice to allow hunger into our city, a choice that doesn't just make New York a worse, less livable city, but makes it more dangerous.
4:50:13
A fed child is a child who can focus, who can learn, who can go to school, and who can play.
4:50:19
A hungry child or a hungry person is in danger not just physically but mentally.
4:50:23
They're at risk for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicidality and violence.
4:50:29
Hunger is not just a physical sensation but it is a destabilizing threat that can undo communities, families and individuals.
4:50:35
To briefly zoom out on the large scheme of this budget, the choice to give CFC its $100,000,000 share while giving the the choice not to give CFC its $100,000,000 share while giving the NYPD over $3,000,000,000 isn't just an act of absurdity, it's an act of hypocrisy.
4:50:49
Guns and tasers on the subway do not make our kids safer.
4:50:52
Food on the table makes our kids safer.
4:50:54
Please expand this budget to give pantries what we need to do our essential work.
4:50:57
If you want to keep New York safe, please keep New Yorkers fed.
4:51:00
Thank you for your time.