Testimony on the impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity in New York State
New York State Assembly
Assembly Standing Committee on Social Services
Assembly Standing Committee on Agriculture
Assembly Task Force on Food, Farm, and Nutrition Policy
Chairs Hevesi, Lupardo, and Solages
September 9, 2020
The impact of COVID-19 on food insecurity in New York State.
Thank you Chairs Hevesi, Lupardo, and Solages for the opportunity to shed light on the increased food insecurity experienced by older New Yorkers, as well as the response from aging services providers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a base of more than 100 community-based organizations, LiveOn NY’s members provide core services that allow older adults to thrive in their communities, including senior centers, congregate and home‐delivered meals, affordable senior housing, elder abuse prevention services, caregiver supports, transportation, NORCs and case management.
Among the millions of New Yorkers who are at risk of food insecurity, older adults — especially older adults of color — are among the most vulnerable populations, just as they are most at-risk during the current pandemic. According to the Brookings Institute, older adults were already food insecure before the onslaught of COVID-19, in part due to fixed incomes and lower utilization of food assistance programs such as SNAP. In New York State alone, 11.1 percent of the State’s population experienced food insecurity from 2015 to 2017, including 7.2 percent of all older New Yorkers. In addition to malnutrition, food insecurity has been linked to greater rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and congestive heart failure, which is especially concerning given the role pre-existing health conditions play in the severity of COVID-19.
During COVID-19, food insecurity was deeply exacerbated by issues not only economic, but related to access as well, as seniors were advised to “stay home” to mitigate risk of contracting the virus. For example, Senior Centers, which offer nutritious meals to older adults across the state, were forced to close their doors virtually overnight. Recognizing that many of the individuals that received these daily meals relied on the food for more than half of their daily nutritional intake, localities and non-profits knew that stopping service altogether was not an option. Instead, programs began shifting their models of service to grab-and-go meals, and finally home-delivered meals for older adults in need. Providers quickly worked to develop new safety protocols as well, with home-delivered meal providers opting to leave the meal at the door, knock, and stand six feet away from the door to say hello and make sure the meal was received. Throughout it all, the aim was to ensure a continuity of services, while promoting safety for both staff and seniors.
More astonishing than the new ways in which providers pivoted to ensure seniors remain fed, was the number of seniors in need of nutritional support. For example, FeedMore of Western NY witnessed a stunning 57 percent increase during the height of the pandemic, when they were serving nearly 32,000 meals each week. Further, 6.6 million pounds of food have been dispensed from Feedmore’s warehouse, and 1,950 clients have been added to their home delivered meal routes, many of whom would have normally received congregate meals at local senior centers had they been open. In New York City, by the end of July, more than 100 million meals had been delivered through the City’s new GetFood program which was created to meet the nutritional needs of New Yorkers of all ages.
Suffice it to say, the nutritional needs have skyrocketed.
This need did not just exist among former congregate meal recipients, it grew among those who were newly homebound, fearful of leaving their house, and those who became increasingly frail as a result of isolation or health challenges. The economic challenges further increased the need, as more and more jobs disappeared; even in normal economic times, many older adults experience difficulty making ends meet, as many are rent-burdened, weighing housing costs against the ability to buy food or medications.
While the vastness of the need is astonishing, it’s important to go beyond the statistics, as each of the millions of meals served represents someone, with a family, a story, and a uniqueness all their own. We heard from one provider, JASA, located in New York City, early in the pandemic about their rushing to deliver an emergency food box to an older client who reached out with only about “two potatoes” left in the house. Similarly gut wrenching, was the story of an older adult who had been surviving on cat food after fear and fatigue left her unable to get groceries; in this instance, our member, Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center stepped in to ensure she had the food she needed.
Given these incredible and heart wrenching levels of need, we must look to the lessons learned and how New York can come out of this pandemic even stronger and better prepared for the future.
First, the pandemic must act as an ongoing reminder of the need to keep a strong social services network at all times. The reason that non-profits were so adept to meeting the need and averting further nutritional crises was their depth of understanding of their communities and the individuals served; this trust is not built overnight. Due to stigma and other barriers, many older adults are reluctant to seek assistance. To meet the need, New York needs strong, well-funded non-profits at all times to build relationships and create the infrastructure for support that may be necessary in an emergency. While designated as essential during the pandemic, for those that rely on these services, non-profit providers are essential workers every single day.
Unfortunately, this lesson of the need for strong support and commitment to human services providers has yet to be fully reflected in the state’s budget, as currently, providers are not being paid. Though we recognize the current financial challenges for the state, the solution cannot be on the backs of the very non-profits that were deemed essential and kept New Yorkers fed and safe during the pandemic. The uncertainty of retroactive cuts and delays of payments to non-profits is unsustainable for organizations that are simultaneously working to address the needs of the most vulnerable. In particular, the looming threat of a 20% reduction to all state contracts, including those that were essential through COVID, is wrong and will undoubtedly result in layoffs, and could even push non-profit providers towards insolvency.
The threat of insolvency is real, given that the State was already underinvesting in its nutrition programs even prior to our current revenue shortfalls. More specifically, home-delivered meal providers in New York City were already losing money on every meal served, to the tune of 20% lower reimbursements when compared to the national average. The reality is that the State's investment in meals for seniors has stagnated for decades, in spite of growing need and a rapidly increasing older adult population. Continuing this trend will put the entire system at risk during future emergencies. As a state, we must, even in difficult financial times, find ways to invest in the very programs that allow older adults to remain fed and safe in the very communities they have helped to build.
To support the State and localities fiscal outlook, LiveOn NY is committed to advocating on the federal level for COVID relief funds. We know that this is a priority shared by so many of our colleagues in the legislature, and we thank you for your voices in this effort. Briefly, we would like to share a few of our nutrition related federal funding priorities and encourage amplification of these needs to the New York congressional delegation as appropriate:
Expand SNAP. Specifically, we are calling for an increase in the SNAP maximum benefits by 15 percent; a raise of the minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30; and the suspension of all administrative rulemaking that would limit SNAP access. This proposal will fight hunger, and also makes good fiscal sense as, according to Hunger Solutions New York, “every $10 increase in monthly SNAP benefits further reduces the odds of additional days in the hospital.”
Enhance Older Americans Act Nutrition programs. Specifically, $100 million specifically for aging services providers, such as those who work at Senior Centers or provide home-delivered meals, to cover additional costs for PPE, cleaning supplies, staffing, and other needs associated with coronavirus.
Aside from budgetary concerns, we would also like to bring attention to a few nutrition related legislative efforts that we support.
First, we thank Chair Hevesi and Senate Sponsor Kaminski for authoring and seeing through the passage of Senate Bill S8247A/ Assembly Bill A10673 which would “authorize the use of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to purchase online groceries in accordance with federal laws and regulations and relates to the state supplemental nutrition assistance program outreach program.” We strongly encourage Governor Cuomo to sign this legislation into law.
Second, we wish to thank the sponsors and supporters of Senate Bill 7290A (PERSAUD) / Assembly A8764A (REYES) which would “establish a statewide restaurant meals program as part of the supplemental nutrition assistance program.” We strongly encourage passage by the Senate and Assembly.
These pieces of legislation, coupled with Federal expansion, are critical ways that SNAP can be bolstered to better combat hunger. Further, LiveOn NY is proud to receive State funding to conduct outreach to older adults around SNAP and to assist seniors in applying for this oft underutilized benefit. This is critical as AARP has reported that SNAP enrollment was only around 42% for eligible older adults. We are committed to this work and are deeply grateful to our champions in the legislature for making this work possible, including Assembly Member Joyner who has long supported our work.
In summary, as this pandemic continues to rage on, SNAP, home delivered meals, food pantries and other programs that comprise the food safety net must receive the adequate financial support to continue serve additional clients.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and we look forward to continuing to work with the State to implement a multi-faceted approach to fighting food insecurity.