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Community Corner

Bed-Stuy Food Pantry Seeing Greater Demand

Hunger rates rise across the city as local food pantries, such as the Bed-Stuy Campaign, try to keep up with demand.

The Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger’s food pantry has seen more demand than ever this year due to rising hunger rates across New York, according to a report by Crain’s New York Business.

According to Crain’s, the “supermarket-style” pantry on Fulton Street had more than 12,000 visitors per month this year, up from 5,000 a month in 2006, and 9,000 a month in 2009. The article says that demand is now so high that the pantry has had to turn away 158 people because they were low on food.

Melony Samuels, director of the Bed-Stuy Campaign, believes the rising hunger rates are due to lay-offs and job instability.

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“We can't keep up with this demand,” said Samuels in the article.

United Way of New York City recently released a survey and found that more than two-thirds of New Yorkers fear that someone they know will face hunger this year. Half of the adults polled consider hunger a huge problem in the city, and 78% believe that the federal government has a responsibility to help.

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