By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The need for food at local soup kitchens and food pantries has increased as more and more New York City residents find themselves without work.
City Harvest, an organization dedicated to collecting and giving out food to those in need, has seen an increase in demand at its food pantries of 15 percent over last year in New York.
The unemployment rate in New York City is 10.3 percent as of September, the highest mark in 16 years. More than half of the hungry New Yorkers lining up for food each week are children.
“The recession’s aftershocks are still being felt in many communities in New York City, and new faces continue to be seen in lines at emergency feeding programs,” said Jilly Stephens, executive director at City Harvest.
“In response, City Harvest is prepared to sustain increased food deliveries throughout the fall and winter, targeting additional deliveries to areas where the need is greatest,” she added.
This winter the agency hopes to make the holidays a little easier for New Yorkers by gathering and distributing over a million more pounds of food than they did last season.
