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Migrants facing food insecurity
FOX 5 NY's Lisa Evers has the story.
NEW YORK CITY - A New York City Council hearing held Tuesday examined the quality of meals being served at local shelters, and according to reports, the food has been spoiled and rotten.
The bad quality of food is leading to an overwhelming demand at soup kitchens and food banks across the Big Apple.
Food insecurity is a crisis for city residents, as well as migrants in Queens. It’s a long-term problem for some low-income residents of the Queensbridge Houses, as well as migrants in shelters, where there are no cooking facilities. City Council member Julie Won sees it all.
"Every single day, I have migrants walking into my office with the food to show us rotten food, spoiled food," Won said.
Won is proposing the hundreds of thousands of dollars the city is spending on bad food in shelters, that goes to waste, be diverted to contracts with local restaurants. They'd be given support to expand and fill the need.
"They could be brought into this ecosystem, and it could be helping the local economy, giving people jobs, saving small businesses," Won said.
FOX 5 NY’s Lisa Evers brought the idea to the owner of the Island Foodie restaurant on 40th Ave. Owner Dwayne Palmer understands the problem.
The Island Foodie restaurant located on 40th Ave.
"It's a lot," Palmer said. "The more times they come in here, and they ask us for food, we try our best to give them food now and then, the best way we can."
Ernestine Smith runs her own non-profit called Marian's Love Inc. She gets food donations and delivers them to pantries and also the homeless on the streets. She said the need has never been higher, for long-time New Yorkers, and now -- there are the new arrivals.
Ernestine Smith gets food donations and delivers them to pantries and also the homeless on the streets.
"I realize it is very little access to getting food from pantries and soup kitchens because of the influx of migrants," Smith said.
Most migrants are in hotel rooms with no individual kitchens.
At one shelter, FOX 5 NY saw food being delivered. A supervisor, who did not want to appear on camera, said the migrants have hot meals cooked for them, but not everywhere.
Most migrants are in hotel rooms with no individual kitchens.
With a shelter system over capacity, something has to give. Palmer said Won's plan could be part of the solution.
"As long as it makes sense for the people, makes sense for my business, I'm all for that," Palmer said.
Won said if those in the shelter system can have hot meals, there will be more in the food pantries for the local residents in need.