NEW YORK, NY – On June 18, 2025 City Harvest, Food Bank For New York City, and United Way of New York City (UWNYC) will be joined by community-based organizations and local food pantries to call on Mayor Adams and the New York City Council to ensure the Community Food Connection program (CFC) is fully funded as part of the upcoming budget.
The group is calling on New Yorkers to connect with their elected officials and urge them to fully support funding the Community Food Connection program at its baseline $100 million level.
The group will highlight how cuts and pauses to long-standing federal nutrition programs have caused severe challenges for New York City’s network of emergency food providers, leaving massive gaps in resources and ultimately fewer meals for those in need.
“A failure to fully fund the Community Food Connection Program will have extremely devastating impacts on New Yorkers. Far too many New Yorkers already lack dignified access to nutritious food. Our food pantries have seen an uptick in need and a simultaneous decrease in funding,” said Grace Bonilla, President and CEO at United Way of New York City. “Food insecurity now affects 1.4 million New Yorkers, including nearly one in four children, and we know from United Way of New York City’s True Cost of Living Report that 50 percent of working-age New Yorkers are already struggling to make ends meet. All public servants have a responsibility to support policies that are in the best interest of the people, including the most vulnerable.”
Community Food Connection has been a supportive lifeline from the city that provides nutritious food to emergency food providers such as soup kitchens and food pantries. Despite its importance, this program remains on the chopping block.
“In a city as economically complex and diverse as New York, funding for Community Food Connection is not just important — it’s essential,” said Leslie Gordon, CEO and President of Food Bank For NYC. “Protecting and strengthening this program will help bridge the gap created by federal and state food program shortfalls, bringing food resources closer in line with the real needs of our neighborhoods, and allowing hunger relief organizations like ours to deliver not just meals, but stability, dignity, and hope. Without this funding, more community organizations will be forced to turn away New Yorkers in need of food, and an important part of the city’s food security safety net will be further compromised.”
As a result of extreme lack of funding, emergency food providers are running out of resources and having to turn New Yorkers away. Pauses to federal funding earlier this year have resulted in New York City-based emergency food providers being owed more than $1 million for already provided services. Proposed federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid have the potential to worsen this crisis.
“New York City food pantries and soup kitchens are facing federal cuts and freezes just as the need for food assistance in our city reaches a record high. In other words, these critical neighborhood organizations are being asked to do more with less,” said Jilly Stephens, CEO of City Harvest. “It’s important for city leaders to step up for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity by fully funding Community Food Connection.”
“There’s a reason you keep hearing people like me talk about affordability: right now, families all over our city and country are finding it harder than ever to make ends meet. So it’s exactly the wrong time to play games with funding for food and nutrition programs,” said Council Member Justin Brannan, Chair of the Finance Committee. “Nothing else matters if you don’t have food to eat. The city budget is the sharpest tool we have to keep our city affordable and livable in these difficult times. We must fully fund Community Food Connections.”
© Erik McGregor – erikrivas@hotmail.com – 917-225-8963