Urgent Call for Action: Funding Needed to Combat Food Insecurity Among NYC’s Older Adults

During budget hearings held on May 12, 2025, local officials discussed strategies to improve food access for older adults living in food deserts throughout New York City. The discussions highlighted the pressing need for expanded meal services and innovative programs to combat hunger in vulnerable populations.

Brianna McKinney, Chief Advancement Officer at Project Guardianship, emphasized the necessity of persistent support for home-delivered meal programs, requesting an annual funding renewal of $500,000, which had facilitated the provision of 273,000 meals in FY24. McKinney urged the passage of Intro 770, which would require the program to deliver one meal a day to homebound older adults year-round, necessitating an investment of $21 million (Source: https://youtu.be/xBtbVjWZrBw&t=18079).

Several advocates stressed the growing food insecurity among older adults. Navdeep Baines from the Asian American Federation voiced the importance of investing in older adult centers, which play a critical role in combating isolation and food scarcity by providing meals and social services. Baines requested further funding to support staffing and program expansion to better address needs within New York City’s diverse older adult community (Source: https://youtu.be/xBtbVjWZrBw&t=18472).

Testimony revealed that many older adults depend on meal programs for their primary source of nutrition. Participants in these programs frequently live on fixed incomes, often as low as $15,000 annually. Jim Martin, Executive Director of Ace, indicated that the rising costs of food, combined with flat funding for services, create a precarious situation for many older New Yorkers. He called for a $57 million investment in congregate meal programs to keep pace with inflation (Source: https://youtu.be/xBtbVjWZrBw&t=19338).

Moreover, the meeting detailed innovative responses to the food access crisis. City officials cited the mobile grocery program, which delivers groceries directly to homebound seniors, as a potential solution, with aspirations to double its enrollment from 2,000 participants to 4,000 in the coming year (Source: https://youtu.be/UoNv6rxjBMM&t=10009).

Reports indicated that the city’s overall funding for older adult services has been limited, compromising efforts to tackle food insecurity adequately. Action is needed to reverse proposed budget cuts and focus on increasing access to nutritious food options for older adults in food deserts. As the city’s older population continues to grow, the urgency to address these concerns remains critical (Source: https://getlocalpost.com/2025/03/11/nyc-aging-department-faces-124-million-budget-shortfall-amid-rising-needs-for-elderly-services/).