♪♪

>> Funding for the

"Long Island Business Report"

has been provided by

The Rauch Foundation

and by The JPB Foundation

and The Ford Foundation.

>> Hello,

and thank you for joining us.

I'm Jim Paymar with the

"Long Island Business Report."

For many Long Islanders,

choosing between paying the rent

and putting healthy food,

or any food, on the table

is a tragic reality.

Those who cannot afford

the high cost of feeding

themselves

and their families face

a continuing struggle

that impacts their well-being

in a host of ways.

And the issue of food inequity

has far-reaching health

and economic consequences

for all of us

who live on Long Island.

As a part of our ongoing

reporting initiative

"Chasing The Dream:

Poverty and Opportunity

in America,"

we're discussing the issue

of the lack of affordable food

on Long Island.

Joining me is Paule Pachter,

C.E.O. of Long Island Cares,

and Von Kuhen,

executive director

of Sustainable Long Island.

Paule and Von, thank you

so much for being with us today.

>> Thanks for having us.

>> Food inequity and people

not being able to afford food,

you know, when you think

of the Hamptons,

and you think of the North Shore

of Long Island

and places like Garden City,

you think that, you know,

we have a society that's flush.

But it really isn't,

and we have tens

of thousands of people in need.

How bad is the problem, Paule?

>> Well, right now, Jim,

we actually have about

316,000 Long Islanders,

including 87,000 children,

who are struggling

with food insecurity in Nassau

and Suffolk County

and really not having

the available resources

to take care

of all of their needs.

And they are using a system

of nearly 300 community-based

local food pantries,

soup kitchens, daycare programs,

senior centers to access food

on a fairly regular basis.

>> And when we talk about

a regular basis, Von, is this,

like, every day there

is some need that's going unmet?

>> Oh, clearly.

There's people that simply do

not have sufficient

income to purchase food.

And you think of Long Island

as an affluent area with

supermarkets on every corner,

but in your low-income

communities, they don't

necessarily have a supermarket

that they can get to, either.

And that also exacerbates

the problem of inequity.

>> I mean, is there real

hardcore hunger

on Long Island, Paule?

>> Well, I wouldn't term it

hardcore hunger,

but there is serious food

insecurity, and, as Von said --

>> Well, explain that for the

audience, food insecurity.

>> What I'm talking about in

food insecurity is that people

don't have the resources

to put at least

two healthy meals

on their plate every day.

If they go out,

and they're able to shop,

given the cost of food,

given the limited resources

they may have,

they're not buying healthy food.

They don't have access to that,

or they can't afford it.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So they'll fill up

on starches.

They'll fill up on carbs.

They'll eat a lot of pasta.

They'll, you know, grab canned

food that's ready to eat.

And that's not making

healthy choices.

That's making a choice, simply,

"I need to fill my stomach."

>> And making unhealthy choices

has, obviously, unhealthy

impacts.

>> Yes.

>> And what are those?

>> Very substantial impacts.

I just wanted to add, I mean,

you think of Long Island

as a land of supermarkets.

And everybody thinks

that it's so easy

to get to a supermarket,

but, in fact, there are

food deserts on Long Island.

There are areas where there's

not a supermarket within a mile,

and for a low-income person that

doesn't have transportation,

would have to walk to get food.

As a result of that, they end up

buying it at bodegas

and local delis,

even a gas station

or a drugstore.

And they're eating food

that it's highly processed,

full of sugar...

>> Salt.

>> ...and salt,

and it's just not nutritious.

>> And it's causing

diabetic problems.

>> It causes substantial

health problems,

including obesity.

I mean, in your low-income

communities, there's twice the

prevalence of obesity as there

is in a more affluent community

on Long Island.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> As much as 30% of

teenagers in some communities

are considered obese.

And so it's obesity.

It's diabetes.

It's heart disease,

and all of these have people

getting ill

and using the medical system,

going to emergency rooms

because they don't necessarily

have doctors to go to.

And it has an impact

on our financial system.

>> But that's a huge number,

Paule, that you put out

in the front of the program,

over 300,000.

>> It is. It's about 10%.

>> 10% of the --

>> 10% of the total population

on Long Island.

And, you know, one of the things

that Von just said

that I think is very important

for people to understand,

because if you talk

about food insecurity

anywhere in the country,

and you talk about having

a food bank

such as Long Island Cares,

the issue isn't so much

getting the food to the people.

It's getting

theright food to the people,

because one of the focuses

of Long Island Cares

and the Harry Chapin food bank

is not just

on the provision of food.

It's on the provision

of healthy food in order

to help people live better,

get sick less.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And, as the population ages,

as we look at 87,000 children

who don't have access to enough

healthy food every day,

then, as is being said, hunger

is a national health problem.

It's an economic issue.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> It's certainly, you know,

having an impact on Long Island,

but the important thing here

is that we do have the resources

to get to the people.

>> And, Von, when kids

don't eat right,

they can't concentrate

in school.

They're not going to do as well

as their counterparts

who do have a good meal

and three meals a day.

And that's going to impact them

negatively, and it's kind of

a vicious cycle, it seems to me.

>> No, that's absolutely true.

That's why one of the programs

that Sustainable Long Island

is working on is the Healthy

Schools and Communities Program

we're doing together

with Western Suffolk BOCES

and Stony Brook Medicine.

So we're going into the schools

and helping the schools

develop food policies

to make sure

the appropriate food choices

are at least available

to the children in the schools.

And then we're going

beyond that, and we're looking

at the corner stores

that may be near the schools

and going in and talking

with the store owners,

encouraging them

to put produce out front

instead of the snacks

and the high-sugar foods.

And we're expecting an impact

from that.

>> You know, I just saw

a movie clip not too long ago

about what they do in France

for the kids.

I mean, they literally have

a chef come in

and plan the meals for a week.

>> Great model.

>> It's wonderful.

And then I think back, and I

don't know what it's like today

because I haven't eaten

a school lunch in a while,

but, I mean, the food

that they put in front of you,

you didn't even think

it was food.

>> I think, first of all,

the schools, in many cases,

are the first defense

against children's hunger

and childhood nutrition.

Many of the children

that we see on Long Island

who are dealing with insecurity

in terms of food

are eligible, hopefully,

and receive the free

or reduced school

breakfast or lunch program.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And so they do have access

to two healthy meals a day,

but what happens in the evening?

What happens on the weekend,

or what happens

when school is closed?

That is a challenge for us

in the food banking industry,

and we've come up

with certain solutions

on Long Island to address it.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> But, again, you talk about

this concept of food deserts,

and I was riding in New Cassel

this afternoon to a program, to

visit a program.

And there aren't

supermarkets there.

And Von's right.

The corner bodega,

the corner grocery store,

buying your food sources

from a local drugstore

and not having

access to variety...

>> Right.

>> ...and, of course, low cost.

>> Right. And this is not

all about kids, either.

This goes to seniors.

I mean, seniors don't have

any --

>> It goes to seniors.

It goes to the whole population,

and I think that there are

some solutions

that can help bring

healthier food to communities.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And a lot of it's going on,

for example, in New Cassel.

We've worked with local

not-for-profits in New Cassel

to build a community garden

where people work together

to grow produce

that they can eat there

in the community.

And we also, in New Cassel

and in other communities,

have youth staff

farmer's markets

where the youth of the community

both learn skills of business,

and they bring food from

East End farms, so it's locally

produced Long Island produce

into the low-income communities,

which allows families

in general,

seniors and the children

all to have more healthy food.

>> Poverty level set by

the national government

in Washington is

about $24,000

for a family of four.

[ Scoffs ]

My understanding

is that we need about $70,000

to $80,000 for a family.

>> To have a living wage

on Long Island, yes.

>> So let's just say

you're making $50,000 to

$60,000.

Your wife is working.

You're working.

You still can't cut it.

You might have

to go to a food pantry

just to get enough food

to feed your family.

>> And it's happening.

2/3 of the people

that are visiting food pantries

on Long Island

are people that are working.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> They're the working poor.

So if you have a family of four

where two of the parents

are working,

and they're only bringing

in $50,000 or $45,000,

and they have to take care

of health insurance,

or they have to take care

of medication,

or they have to pay their rent,

they can't afford to go out

and put healthy food

or fresh produce

on their tables.

And, you know,

we've got enough programs

on Long Island, though,

to address these issues.

>> But, I mean, how do we --

I mean,

is there a resolution to this?

I mean, it all comes down

to dollars and cents.

If you have enough dollars

and cents, you don't live

in those food desert areas.

You live in a place where

there's lots of supermarkets.

If you've got enough money,

you can go into those

supermarkets and buy food.

So, I mean, how do you raise

the economic level

of the people of Long Island

so that we don't

have this situation?

>> We need to raise

the recognition

among the general population

and the business on Long Island

that these communities actually

could support a supermarket.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We conducted an analysis

a couple of years ago

evaluating some of

the low-income communities

and found out

that they leave the community

for up to 65% of the food

that they acquire because they

can't get it locally.

And some of these communities,

that would equate to about

a $25 million

income that a proper supermarket

could get by developing --

>> And you can't be

walking around with three, four,

five bags of groceries

if it's a mile from your home.

A lot of these people can't do

that.

>> No.

>> Right? And I know for a fact

that when they do

open supermarkets,

I remember in Harlem, years ago,

when Pathmark first

came in on 125th Street,

what a difference that made.

>> Sure.

>> I don't live

so far from Hempstead.

They opened up a C-Town.

It's mobbed.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> You know, I go there.

It's more convenient

to my house.

[ Laughs ]

But so why aren't

the supermarket chains

moving into these food deserts?

>> I think it's lack

of knowledge, an expectation

that they won't be able

to get the revenue

that they would in

a more affluent community,

but those that have set up

in the low-income communities

have found

that they are very productive.

People come and buy their food.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And it's a good subsistence

for them.

>> What about county

governments,

Nassau and Suffolk counties?

How are they helping?

Are they helping you guys?

>> Well, you know, we certainly

are being helped both by Nassau

and Suffolk County, as well

as by the state of New York

and through the USDA.

In terms of the food being able

to come into Long Island Cares,

it's not only government

commodity food

that we get on a regular basis

from the USDA,

but our state contract allows us

to buy over $1 million worth

of food each year.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> In Suffolk County,

we do provide food

to all of the Social Service

satellite programs,

and there are about six

or seven Social Service offices,

so if people come

to Social Services

in Suffolk County,

and if they need food,

they can get it

right on the spot

if they're applying for Medicaid

or SNAP benefits.

And in Nassau County,

we have a satellite program

in Freeport,

which Nassau County supports

fiscally,

which allows us to provide

additional food

to the Freeport, Roosevelt, and

Hempstead communities.

>> You mentioned, when we talked

the other day on the phone,

about the possibility

of the federal government

doing away with a farm program

that helped raise food

that would be consumed locally.

Can you tell us what...

>> Sure. Yeah, absolutely.

Washington provides subsidies

to farmers across the country

to help them grow crops

that perhaps they may not have

the ability to grow at all.

So if they're growing --

If they feel that they're going

to have an abundance of corn

or abundance of potatoes

or green beans, the feds

often step in through the USDA

and provide farms subsidies

to encourage

the farmers to grow more.

The feds will buy the crop.

It'll be given

to the food manufacturers,

canned, bagged,

boxed and then made available

to the food banks

across the country

and for people who are poor,

or also in times of crisis

and disasters.

So our concern right now

is simply cautiously waiting

for Washington to decide,

are they going to continue

to provide the subsidies

to the farmers

to produce the food?

Are they going to continue

to support

the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program,

Child Nutrition Reauthorization?

You know, the federal government

has a very, you know,

large role to play

in keeping people healthy.

>> Is there a jeopardy here?

>> We're not sure yet.

We're just not sure, Jim.

I mean, you know, it hasn't been

on the front burner

in the last 50 days.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> But I don't know what the

next 50 days is going to bring.

>> No one knows what the next

5 minutes looks like.

Von, you know,

we look at the issue

of poverty or food inequity,

and we just drive right by it,

most of us.

You know, we really live

in a time of,

like, this is a me society.

It's about me and not about we.

And how do we change the mindset

of people who are going,

"Hey, things are great.

The stock market's up,"

versus, you know,

there are a lot of kids

in our immediate area that

just don't have enough to eat.

How do we get people to think

differently about this?

>> That is just so, so true,

Jim.

I mean,

the low-income communities

on Long Island,

which you discussed before

in this program,

are pockets of poverty.

And people avoid them who live

in the more affluent

communities, and they don't see

the poverty on a daily basis,

and they don't recognize that

there's people going

to soup kitchens and people

who are going without food.

And so it's really --

We need to provide publicity

to the situation,

to the communities,

wherever we can,

whatever outlets we can

to show people that

there's a human face to this.

>> Right.

And is there a human, I mean,

is there a stigma for people

to going to the pantry?

I mean, like, you feel

like maybe, you know,

you've hit rock bottom

or something?

>> For some, not for everyone.

>> Uh-huh.

>> It depends on who

the family is.

I can tell you that,

every Tuesday

at our satellite programs,

we serve only veterans.

And initially, when we opened up

to the veterans,

they had some feelings

of being stigmatized by coming

to the assistance center

and having other people there

who looked different from them,

maybe economically

were different from them.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And then we just carved

out Tuesday for veterans,

and now they just come freely.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> But there is stigma

associated with being poor

and being hungry,

but, you know, we have to bust

through

that stigma in organizations

like Sustainable

and Long Island Cares.

This is what we're charged with.

>> Well, and getting back, Von,

to what we were talking about

just a second ago

was the we-me society.

I mean, it really does impact

the people who are doing well

in the stock market

who are going to be footing

the bill for someone

who has an obesity problem

or a diabetic problem

or another health problem.

They end up

in the emergency room.

We pay for that, right?

>> There is an impact to us

as a society

for not having proper nutrition

for the people of low income

because they do need

more resources, medical

resources -- going to hospitals,

going to emergency rooms,

increasing insurance rates,

which we all pay,

and then also increasing

the need for subsidies from

government, which we also pay

those taxes.

So as a society,

we need to band together

and recognize that we need

to help provide proper food

to all communities.

>> But this banding together,

you know,

how does that come about?

Because, you know,

people are just so frenzied

and living their lives

and commuting

and trying to take care

of their kids and doing

a million different things.

>> I think it takes leadership

on the part of government

and our politicians,

and there are some politicians

who have recognized these needs,

and also

our religious community.

There's a lot

of church organizations

that are working in this field

to promote the fact

that there are low-income people

that need assistance.

So I think that's how we band

together as a community.

I mean, the same way

we would do an individual garden

or a farmer's market,

bring the community together

to do it.

That really takes

that community action

to accomplish it.

>> What about these, you know,

localized farming areas, you

know, where you take plots of

land.

Are those effective at all?

>> Well, I think it's part

of Sustainable, their focus.

So I'd let Von

talk about it more than me.

>> No, it is absolutely true.

I mean, there's several

different models of how people

can produce food together.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> There's the community garden,

where people work together

in a garden.

There's also cooperatives

where people pay a fee

for a professionally run garden.

Some of them are organic.

But those are expensive.

That's one of the issues

is doing organic food.

And even your local produce

is sometimes more expensive

than the food

at the supermarket.

So it's just another need

for a way to find funds

and subsidies to help lower

that price of food.

>> Paule, are things

getting better,

or are they getting worse?

I mean, we came out

of the Great Recession in --

I don't know, I don't know

when we actually came out of it.

For some people,

they're still suffering with it.

But what do you see?

>> I see people still struggling

on Long Island

after the recession of 2009.

Don't forget, in 2009,

a great deal of people,

who were beginning to try

and dig out, then got hit

with Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> So on top of trying

to get out of a bad economy,

now they lost more.

So I don't see it

getting better quickly.

I see it as a very slow process

that's going to take

a very long time.

I think people who are living

on Long Island

and are able to pay their rent

or their mortgage

and manage to own a car

and take care of their health

insurance may feel

that everything is okay.

But from what we've seen

in the last 10 years

is many people on Long Island,

Jim, are one paycheck away

from winding up

at a food pantry.

And the economics of Long Island

is so fluid

and so tenuous right now.

>> In what way?

>> Well, I think

what we're seeing is,

at one time,

we spoke about Nassau

and Suffolk County

as having pockets of poverty.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We could identify those

communities

where people were living

near the poverty level

or didn't have resources.

And I think,

in the last 15 years,

we are beginning to see a shift

where there's now pockets

of affluence.

And most of Long Island,

middle class of Long Island,

people who are making maybe

$70,000 or less are struggling,

and they're going to continue

to struggle

because the cost of housing,

the tax base on Long Island

are really pulling them apart.

And so I see Long Island

becoming more illustrative

of an area with urban issues

than the suburban community

that was developed in the '50s.

I just see it.

>> Mm-hmm.

And these pockets of affluence,

is there a way of getting

the affluent community

to reach out

to the people who are

in the pockets of poverty?

Because eventually there's going

to be some kind of clash.

And when people don't have,

things happen in society,

which we don't like.

I mean, we have to start

thinking about

this more in the sense of we,

it seems to me,

than just

about what's good for me.

>> That's true.

I mean, we certainly

do have many people

in the affluent community

from a philanthropic perspective

that are providing support

to the not-for-profits

that are working in this field

and helping the community.

So there is that spread.

It's not so easy for the people

in the middle class

to do those contributions,

and it's possible

those contributions may not

be tax deductible in the future.

So that's another issue.

>> Mm-hmm.

And so what, you know,

your programs,

how do you survive?

How do you, you know --

Is it through contributions?

Do you get government grants,

a combination thereof?

>> For us,

it's all of the above.

>> Yeah.

>> We have to raise money.

>> And your budgets

are roughly what?

>> Our budget at Sustainable now

is less

than half a million dollars.

>> And, Paule?

>> Our budget is approximately

$15 million.

>> $15 million.

>> But, you know,

there's something to be said,

you know, when Harry Chapin

founded Long Island Cares

37 years ago,

he named it specifically

because that's what he believed,

that Long Island would care.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> They would care that there

were people who were hungry

living amongst us

and that needed our help.

And I can only tell you,

for 37 years,

Long Islanders continue to give.

They give generously.

The state continues

to be concerned

and to be supportive

and continues to provide

increases in state support

for the food banks.

We see it locally with Suffolk

and Nassau County

even though they are struggling

a little more than the state.

Our question right now is where

are the feds going to be

because we do, as the food bank,

rely upon the feds

for almost

4 million pounds of food.

>> And what about

educating people?

I mean, I didn't know

300,000 people

had a food problem,

87,000 kids had a food problem.

How would you know that?

I mean, is it written

about very often?

It's not...

>> It's not covered

in the press very much.

It's not something

that is a popular news story.

>> Uh-huh.

>> And oftentimes,

when we do work on something

like a community garden

or a food bank

is helping people,

like, in the holiday season,

then it attracts some interest.

And you see it on television

and so forth, but

we need to build more of that.

>> And is there a way,

I mean, you know,

through the educational system

to discuss this, to...

>> There's many ways.

First of all,

the educational system

on Long Island

from what I've seen in my years

at Long Island Cares,

this is an issue for them.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> They want to make sure that

children and seniors

and anyone who's hungry

should be taken care of.

So most of the schools

on Long Island support

food drives in the local school.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Scout troops support

the food drives.

The business community,

whether it's the

Hauppauge Industrial Association

or the Long Island Association,

there are corporations

there that support

having corporate food drives.

And, you know, there's matching

gifts, and there's donations,

but as far as educating people

and getting the word out,

I mean,

I'm sitting right here with you.

>> Yeah, well,

I mean, it's a start.

>> It's a great start.

>> That's what we're hoping

to do because, you know,

a lot of this

is just incredible.

I mean, and, like I say,

you drive through certain areas

and, you know,

you avoid kind of looking

to one side or the other.

And I think it's, you know,

time for us to kind of think

about the people on the street

who are in need.

And bottom line

for you going forward,

because the show's almost over,

what do we do

to make a difference?

>> I think it's very important,

if you have money to give,

to give money

to organizations such as ours

that are helping people in need.

And if you are giving food,

please give healthy food.

Think about what you're giving.

They might be the worst

food items in your pantry,

but think of health.

>> Okay. Long Island Cares

and Sustainable Long Island,

so think about those

two organizations when

you're writing out your checks

at the end of the month,

and you can put

a little money aside, right?

>> Thank you very much.

>> Okay.

Well, thanks, Paule and Von,

for being with us today.

Really appreciate it.

And that wraps up our

conversation about food

insecurity on Long Island.

To learn more about the

"Chasing The Dream" initiative,

please visit

the chasingthedreamproject.org.

And for more on the

"Long Island Business Report,"

log onto our website.

You can also find us on Facebook

and join

the conversation on Twitter.

I'm Jim Paymar.

Thank you for joining us

for this edition of the

"Long Island Business Report,"

and we'll see you next time.

>> Funding for the

"Long Island Business Report"

has been provided by

The Rauch Foundation

and by The JPB Foundation

and The Ford Foundation.

♪♪