The Food Bank for NYC's most recent survey shows that half the City's residents have difficulty affording groceries.
...the number of city residents experiencing difficulty affording needed food has surged over the past five years — doubling from approximately 2 million to approximately 4 million from 2003 to 2008, representing almost half of all city residents (48 percent). The number having difficulty increased by almost 1 million (26 percent) within the past year alone, the highest increase in the history of the poll. Findings also show that 3.5 million city residents are concerned about needing food assistance (food from soup kitchens, food pantries and/or food stamps) during the next year, including 2.1 million (59 percent) who have never accessed food assistance in the past.Check out the Norwood News's coverage of the report here. The New York Observer also covered these findings, pointing out that "only 34 percent of Manhattan residents said they needed assistance, while 55 percent of Bronx residents said they did," once again putting us #1 in the City. Much of this is likely due to the fact that it's typical for west Bronx residents to pay half of their income on rent. As the costs of housing and food have risen much faster than wages, more and more households are struggling. The report documents how 54% of Bronx residents had difficulty affording food this year, "up from 37 percent in 2003 (a 46 percent increase) and up from 50% in 2007."
Also related to food: The Voice's Robert Sietsema made the trip up to the area to check out World of Taste Vietnamese restaurant on Jerome Ave just below Kingsbridge Rd. The review:
...no place can match the excellent Vietnamese food I've been eating lately at an unexpected location—Jerome Avenue in the Fordham section of the Bronx.He also profiles two local Cambodian markets in the piece. World of Taste also received a strong review from Jennifer Mitchell in the September 4 edition of the Norwood News.
(If you notice one other trend here -- citywide papers get a lot of their story ideas from neighborhood press like the Norwood News!)
