For those with the means, there are many ways to grab a bite in New York City, from bodegas and halal carts to Michelin-starred restaurants to farmers’ markets. As soaring food prices make it harder to put food on the table, we need just as many ways to help New Yorkers afford a nutritious meal.

Grocery stores have been the primary place families went for food, while pantries, community kitchens, and other emergency food providers served as temporary stopgaps. The affordability crisis flipped that script.

Food costs in the metropolitan area rose by 56% between 2013 and 2023, outpacing the national increase of 46%. While prices skyrocketed, wages failed to keep up, and new federal work requirements pushed 22,000 city residents off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) meant to close the gap. Since 2019, visits to city food pantries have surged 82% as working families, older adults, immigrants, and others increasingly turned to emergency food........

© NY Daily News