Many food pantries in our area are getting hit with a triple whammy – food inflation, uncertainty over federal funding, and increasing numbers of clients. “Food insecurity has always been an issue, and the pandemic raised it to alarming levels. It continues to be a huge issue countywide with two in five people at risk of hunger” says Westchester County Department of Planning Commissioner Blanca Lopez.
The county has announced $700,000 in funding to combat food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases. Even though that money is coming from Covid relief funds most of it is going to food pantries. “This funding meets a critical need. … to support nonprofit organizations that assist food insecure residents in the County. … The number of food insecure people has increased drastically since COVID-19 started, and it has not gone back down to the pre-pandemic number” says Westchester County Food Security Coordinator Susan Weisman.
Several groups in our area are recipients. Horseman’s Harvest Neighborhood Pantry (HHNP) has been granted $150,000, with much of that money going toward the purchase of new industrial cold storage refrigerators/freezers, a van for food pickup and delivery and food for distribution.
But HHNP is still concerned about where things are heading. “There is uncertainty as to the future of grants and county funding due to the new policies in Washington,” says Stephanie Fuller, HHNP president.
And the demand just keeps growing. “We have seen an increase in registered families and individual’s month-over-month since our first distribution in September 2023,” says Fuller. “Over 725 households have registered for our services and that number grows by about 15 families monthly. Each month we serve approximately 425 families at our distributions, including over 400 children and close to 90 seniors.”
The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry (MKIFP) is receiving $85,000 of the county grant to purchase healthy food for their market style, self-choice pantry.
Executive Director Trina Ward Fontaine says this comes at a time when Washington is pulling back. “Cuts to USDA mean we will have to purchase more of our inventory at higher prices, driving up our food costs and requiring additional funding just to continue to meet the current demand.”
MKIFP is bracing for “additional budget cuts proposed by Congress” while the client base keeps growing “We have experienced double-digit increases in the number of people who need our help. In 2024, the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry served 16% more people than the year before. In February of this year, we had several weeks with a record 800 families coming through our doors, up from an average of 700 households in 2024. That translates into more than 2,100 individuals,” Fontaine adds. “We are also hearing from our guests that their SNAP benefits have already been reduced to pre-pandemic levels, which will increase their dependence on the pantry.”
The Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown has received a grant of $25,000 for the purchase of healthy food to distribute to the community. “We’ve seen a year-over-year increase in each of the first three months, with volunteers packing 20 percent more bags since the first of the year” says Lisa Kosan, the pantry’s president. “The money will cover one month of purchases and give us a little breathing room.”
But she also says they’re concerned about the future “It’s still too early to predict how much money we will lose because of cuts and delays in federal grant programs. We aren’t optimistic.”
The news out of the private sector is not much better “Private funders are skittish because of market fluctuations and increased demand from nonprofits,” says Kosan. “At least two of our longtime supporters have told us that they can’t meet our requests this year.” That’s causing the pantry to make some changes “We cut back on produce because of steep prices, which Feeding Westchester has told us could continue because of tariffs on goods from Mexico. … In this inflationary environment we are chasing pricing and having to continually adjust what we can distribute.”
And Gullotta House has been awarded $88,200, and it’ll use that money to partner with local restaurants to provide free hot meals to those in need in Ossining, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown.
Each of the pantries say they rely on the generosity of the community to survive, and volunteers to help them fulfill their missions to help those in need.
