Melissa Gallanter, Food and Nutrition Services Director at Alliance, wrote an op-ed on the subject of food access, which was published in City Limits today. The op-ed addresses the need to invest in essential food access services for low-income New Yorkers. Alliance’s serves over 20,000 fresh meals every year, in addition to thousands of bags of shelf-stable pantry goods.
“New York City must increase funding for community-based food programs, ensuring organizations like ours can meet growing demand and prepare for compromised federal support.
Investment in these local efforts is an investment in public health. Access to healthy food is a social determinant of health—low-income, food-insecure adults experience higher rates of chronic health conditions. For example, in the South Bronx, food insecurity affects nearly a quarter of residents; 20 percent of adults in the community are living with diabetes, which is four times the rate of food-secure neighborhoods. Therefore, every dollar spent on nutrition education and food access programs saves on health care costs down the line.”
