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Hunger Action Network Complains Tax Fairness, Income Inequality Missing from Gubernatorial Debate The Hunger Action Network of New York State said that the candidates in this week’s gubernatorial debate failed to address the regressive nature of the state’s tax system and the great income inequality in New York. “Whenever candidates start talking about tax cuts and holding the line on taxes, low and moderate income New Yorkers instinctively grab their wallets and pocketbooks. The last thirty years of such promises invariably resulted in state tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy while spending on essential programs were either cut or shifted onto local taxpayers via higher county property and sales taxes. The end result is that the poorest New Yorkers now pay twice as much of their income for state and local taxes as the wealthy,” noted Bich Ha Pham, Executive Director of Hunger Action Network. more > =================================================================== New
Yorkers Help Neighbors at Thanksgiving On
Thanksgiving many Americans take part in a traditional holiday
feast and express their appreciation to God for the bounty
they have been fortunate enough to receive. Some New Yorkers
are also taking the time to help their less fortunate neighbors.
A long line forms outside this food bank in New York City.
Dozens of people lean on their shopping carts. Bundled in
warm winter coats, hats and gloves, they wait in the crisp,
early morning hours for a free package of canned and fresh
food. Florence Messiah does not need a turkey because she
is spending Thanksgiving with relatives. But she takes a weekly
trip to the food pantry because she lives on a tight budget
and can use the free groceries. "It makes a big difference,
it does. You save money, so I do not mind walking these blocks
to get the stuff," she said. Inside, volunteers have
formed an assembly line to fill brown paper bags with food
items. "There is cranberry sauce, there are vegetables,
there is canned fruit, there are some turkeys that we will
be giving out later," said one of the volunteers. Many
of the volunteers have been given a morning off from work
at New York-based corporations to give back to the community
before Thanksgiving. Hester Sullivan is the deputy director
of the center, which provides groceries to more than 400 people
a week and serves hot meals to more than 100 people every
day. She says before the holidays, she can use the extra hands.
"We wanted to have extra bags because what happens is
we see a lot of people coming in for emergency food during
holidays," said Ms. Sullivan, "especially when their
kids are out of school because it overtaxes their already
overtaxed burden, so it is a whole other population that is
food insecure in the holiday." According to a new study
by the private Hunger Action Network, an estimated 900,000
New Yorkers visited emergency food programs each week in 2002.
The report, which was based on a detailed survey of more than
600 different food programs, says that last year, demand for
emergency food rose by more than 20 percent in New York State.
More than half of the programs in the study also reported
an increase in children and senior citizens using the services.
Activists say the situation has not improved for many low-income
New Yorkers, despite indications that the economy is growing.
Officials estimate that since the September 11, 2001, attacks,
New York lost more than 100,000 jobs. Unemployment, shrinking
donations, and cuts in government programs are reported to
have contributed to difficulties in putting food on the table.
"I will say, no, we do not have hunger in America the
same way we might in Ethiopia, or North Korea or parts of
Latin America," explained Joel Berg of the New York City
Coalition Against Hunger, which helped conduct the survey.
"There are not people starving on the street. Why? Number
one, because we do have a federal nutrition safety net, which
has been reduced, but is still there, and because we do have
this incredible network of food banks, food rescue organizations,
soup kitchens, and food pantries that prevent people from
starving." But Mr. Berg estimates that due to a growing
demand for and a shortage of supplies, food programs in New
York had to turn away more than 100,000 people last year.
"In the richest city in the planet, to have more than
100,000 people when they finally go to get charitable food
not be able to get it, really is a crisis that needs to be
addressed," he said. Mr. Berg is calling for an $8 million
increase in state funding, a minimum wage hike in New York
and the expansion of federal food programs. Back outside the
food pantry, Maggie Otero has been waiting with her two children
since before dawn. She says she recently recovered from a
debilitating illness, but she faced the cold for a Thanksgiving
turkey. "For Thanksgiving my plan is to be with my kids,
to be thankful that I am still alive and to have a family
night," she said. Ms. Otero, who is studying to be a
surgical technician, says she hopes that next year, after
she has graduated, she will have a job to help pay for her
Thanksgiving feast. Challenge
to aid families in need grows tougher Think of a child waking up on Dec. 25 and there's no gift under the tree. And there's no tree. For a holiday dinner, there are just mustard sandwiches. And the child painfully knows elsewhere other kids are unwrapping presents, sparkling with the magic of the season. Helping to give all children a happy holiday is the growing challenge of The Buffalo News Neediest Fund. "During tough economic times, we know that people's needs go up," said Arlene F. Kaukus, president of the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, at the Wednesday kick-off of the 22nd News Neediest Fund. The number of people in emergency food programs jumped by more than 20 percent in the last year according to a new report by the Hunger Action Network of New York State. And almost half the food pantries and soup kitchens report there are fewer resources with cuts from the government and private sector. "Thankfully we are able to help thousands of local families through The Buffalo News Neediest Fund and the Western New York Holiday Partnership," Kaukus said. "We hope that everyone can pitch in to do a little more for our neighbors in need. It makes a big difference." One of the largest holiday charity programs in Western New York, the fund distributed over $700,000 in food, toys and other essentials to more than 11,000 local families and individuals last year. Yet it fell thousands of dollars short in the money needed for holiday dinners. "As is the case every year, our two greatest needs are for cash donations to purchase 12,000 holiday ham dinners for qualified families, and new, unwrapped toy donations for children ages 8 through 12," Kaukus said. "Traditionally, we see a lot of toy donations for babies and toddlers. It's the older kids in need who often get overlooked." These kids would like items like board games, photo albums and crafts. "The Neediest Fund is one of the best ways for Western New Yorkers to reach out to their less-fortunate neighbors, and to give them a happier holiday season," commented Margaret M. Sullivan, editor and vice president of The Buffalo News. Thousands of area families need food and gifts this holiday season. Drop-off sites for such items are available at all Wegmans stores and The Buffalo News lobby and all News circulation offices. "Over half of all food programs experienced an increase in the number of children they serve," said Susannah Pasquantonio, Hunger Action Network Community Food Coordinator. Her Hunger Action colleague, Vivian Horn, adds, "People using food programs are playing by the rules. They are working but don't make enough to make ends meet." And toys have to be the first sacrifice by these families, who nevertheless worry about preserving the innocence of their children. Toys collected in the Neediest Fund will be distributed through the Western New York Holiday Partnership, a collaboration of large toy giveaway programs in Erie and Niagara counties. So donors can also drop off a toy in any Toys for Tots barrel. All items go to the same destination: homes of needy families. Besides the News Neediest Fund, the Western New York Holiday Partnership is made up of the following groups: the Boys and Girls Clubs of Buffalo; Catholic Charities' Ladies of Charity and Parish Outreach; Central Referral Services; the Salvation Army's Buffalo, Lockport, Niagara Falls, Tonawanda and rural service units; the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program; United Way of Buffalo & Erie County and of Niagara; West Seneca AmeriCorps; and Western New York Hispanics and Friends. The United Way of Buffalo & Erie County administers the News Neediest Fund on behalf of The News. Distribution of holiday meals purchased with money donated to the News Neediest Fund will be coordinated through the Food Bank of Western New York and the Food for All Pantry Network. Cash donations for purchasing perishables and holiday ham dinners for the needy can be mailed to: The News Neediest Fund, Station C Post Office, 1245 Main Street, P.O. Box 444, Buffalo, NY 14209-0444. =================================================================== Rochester Democrat and Chronicle A call to help end the hunger By
Gary Craig Matt Clark, 20, a Rochester Food Not Bombs volunteer, carries food items on Sunday into the Friends Meeting House in downtown Rochester. Along with the Politics of Food Program and Poor People United, the groups distributed perishable food. [Day in Photos]
He’s found it on Sundays at the Friends Meeting House in Rochester. “I usually go to the Public Market because the Public Market is cheaper than the grocery store,” said Evans, who said he relies solely on Social Security for income. “And this is even cheaper. They don’t charge you nothing.” On Sunday, area anti-hunger and anti-poverty organizations — Rochester Food Not Bombs, the Politics of Food Program and Poor People United — gathered at the Friends Meeting House, 84 Scio St., to hand out perishable food. Each week, food is distributed at the site on Sundays, but this time the organizations were responding to a statewide call from the Hunger Action Network of New York State to highlight hunger during Thanksgiving week. “There’s no reason why we can’t redistribute this food,” said Andrew Stankevich, the program director of Rochester Food Not Bombs, noting that many food cupboards won’t handle perishable foods. “Nobody cares that tons of food are going to waste each week,” he said. At the Friends home, groups handed out fresh fruits, vegetables and bread, much of it provided by Foodlink. The Hunger Action Network recently surveyed food donation sites across the state and found that 80 percent of those coming for food were the working poor. A growing number of people who recently lost jobs are also seeking food donations, the survey showed. “It isn’t that these people aren’t trying to get jobs,” said Alison Clarke of the Politics of Food Program. “Most people want to work.” Evans spent decades as a migrant worker, finally quitting when he was 68. Now, he said, he goes to the Friends Meeting House each Sunday because he knows it will help him get the most out of his limited income. “I eat a little better now,” he said. “… You’ve got to count your blessings.” |
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