"Approximately 2.9 million New Yorkers experience difficulty affording food for themselves and their families, an increase of 60 percent since 2003."
"... approximately 1.4 million people — mainly women, children, seniors, the working poor and people with disabilities — rely on soup kitchens and food pantries."
" ... more than 3 million New Yorkers live in low-income neighborhoods that lack access to affordable, nutritious food. With their budgets already strained, and the prevalence of low-cost, low-quality food in these neighborhoods, these residents face significant challenges in leading a healthy lifestyle — leading to high concentrations of diet-related conditions such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension." Food Poverty in New York City -- Food Bank For New York City (retrieved June 20 2012)