Food insecurity increases amid Westchester’s affluence

This is the first in a series of stories about hunger action in Westchester County. Developed with The Recorder — a weekly newspaper that serves Bedford, Pound Ridge, Lewisboro, and Mount Kisco — the series will examine the rise in food insecurity and highlight the people and organizations contending with that trend. Over the next six weeks, the Dispatch and the Recorder will produce in-depth coverage of the issue in print and online. 

By Martin Wilbur

Mention Westchester County to almost anyone, and chances are they’ll think of an affluent suburb with tree-lined streets and well-kept lawns. While that’s true in many parts of the county, there is also great need — including thousands of families who feel the pressure of not having enough to eat.

Food insecurity has long been a problem in Westchester. However, the shutdown following the onset of Covid-19, which caused a sudden spike in layoffs, followed by steep inflation and an escalating cost of living, including housing, has placed added pressure on community pantries and hunger relief organizations now serving residents who may never have envisioned that they would need them.

Tami Wilson, chief operating officer for Feeding Westchester, the Elmsford-based nonprofit that supplies food for most pantries in the county and about 175 organizations throughout Westchester, said the public has a misconception of what hunger looks like. While seniors, single-parent households, and Black and brown communities are more likely to need a pantry, Wilson said there are also residents working multiple jobs or finding it difficult to earn a high enough wage who rely on assistance.

She called the level of hunger in Westchester “shocking” considering the amount of wealth in the county. “We often say it’s one in three households, but what that looks like for me in Westchester County right now, given all of the policies that have changed, we’re now asking people to choose even further. Do I choose between food, do I choose between food and medicine, food and school supplies?”

Perhaps more telling is that 39% of households in Westchester are considered “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed” due to the spiraling cost of living, which means there is a struggle to pay for the basics, according to a recent United Way report. In Westchester, a household of four with income of less than $131,000 a year is considered to be in that category.

As Hunger Action Month concludes next week, an overwhelming percentage of agencies in Westchester are struggling to meet the need. They are also keeping a wary eye on government cuts that have already begun to take effect.

Pantries under pressure

Most of the food banks and pantries in communities throughout Westchester have been on the front lines addressing hunger problems for years. However, since shutdown caused by the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, when the reported national unemployment rate spiked to more than 14%, the number of residents needing help hasn’t abated.

While the extent of the crisis caused by the pandemic diminished by late 2021, the number of families coming into the Community Center of Northern Westchester’s food pantry in Bedford Hills has remained at pandemic levels, according to executive director Clare Murray. In 2019, its pantry had just over 5,000 visits. Last year, there were over 12,000, and approximately 744,000 pounds of food was distributed, mirroring pandemic highs. 

JoAnn Reed-Stokes, the director of the Hastings Youth Advocate Program, which oversees the Hastings Food Pantry, agreed that the need is as great as ever. Pre-pandemic there were about 25 families registered; today that number is at more than 100, with 60 to 70 visitors each week. 

Greater awareness of the Hastings Food Pantry since the pandemic has been a factor, in addition to escalating need.

“At times, it has fluctuated, but I would say this year specifically, 2025, we’ve seen a steady increase and our biggest increase has been coming from seniors,” Reed-Stokes said.

Wilson cited how wages for many have failed to keep up, combined with inflation at the supermarket and for other necessities such as housing and utilities. As a result, families are left with less money and hard choices.

Even greater challenges loom

As cuts from the federal government for a variety of social safety net programs, including those to alleviate hunger, begin to take hold, there is the likelihood that there will be even more responsibility falling on local pantries. 

The “Big Beautiful Bill,” which Congress passed earlier this year, will eliminate an estimated 2.4 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In all, more than 22 million households may lose or see a reduction in benefits.

In New York State, households could see an average $190 month reduction in those benefits, the Urban Institute projects.

In the spring, Feeding Westchester lost more than $1 million of its federal funding as part of discretionary cuts in the Commodity Credit Corporation, according to Wilson. During the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, Feeding Westchester received $9.1 million in total government funding. This fiscal year, that total is $6.6 million. 

Since it buys food at low cost, three meals are lost for every dollar that’s cut, according to Wilson. Last year, Feeding Westchester distributed about 17.5 million meals, but the true need in the county is roughly 40 million meals.

Pantries are designed to help tie people over who need help, Wilson pointed out, not replace government funding.

“Food banks are not built to safeguard communities and our neighbors,” Wilson said. “We’re depending on federal funding and federal programs to do that, not food banks.”

Recent reports that the federal government will eliminate the annual report on hunger in America because it was “rife with inaccuracies,” a U.S. Department of Agriculture statement claimed, may result in further reductions, according to Wilson.

Murray, the CCNW executive director, knows of SNAP recipients who have seen reductions in their benefits, in one case from $250 to $25 a month. 

“So, to think that these cuts are going to have an even more devastating impact for people will make it a very challenging environment,” Murray said.

This series on hunger action is presented with support from the PepsiCo Foundation. The next installment will focus on solutions to cope with hunger. You can read that article on the Recorder's website here