About the Nutrition Consortium
of New York State

The Nutrition Consortium of New York State, Inc., formed in 1985, is a statewide, private, nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing problems of hunger.

Hunger is a dreadful reality for many families in New York State: children are going to bed or starting their day without having eaten; working adults are going without food in order to pay the rent and heating bills; and the unemployed, the poor and near poor individuals and families are too often going hungry.

The findings of the Nutrition Consortium’s Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project (CCHIP) document this reality in New York State in our publication, In the Land of Plenty: Hunger in New York State. Furthermore, our conclusions have been corroborated by the USDA’s Food Security Measurement Study showing that during the period 1996-98, 10% of households in New York State were hungry or at risk of hunger. That’s as many as 1.8 million hungry New York State residents. Only 16 other states had food insecurity and hunger levels equal to or greater than New York. Other recent studies, which document the tremendous increase in the use of food pantries and soup kitchens, serve to emphasize the problem of hunger.

The Consortium believes that the crippling reality of hunger in New York State and the USA is unacceptable, and that it is reversible. We contend that a governmental response to hunger through state and federal food programs is the appropriate first line of attack in the fight to end hunger. It is widely acknowledged that adequate nutrition is crucial to an individual’s ability to achieve his/her full potential and therefore be a productive member of society. Government food programs can assist individuals and families living near or below the poverty level to achieve this goal, but they are under-utilized for a variety of reasons. Full use of these programs, made possible by adequate federal and state support in the form of funds, policies and actions will significantly reduce the incidence of hunger.

The mission of the Nutrition Consortium of New York State, Inc., is to alleviate hunger for poor and near poor residents of New York State, by expanding the availability of, access to, and use of governmental feeding programs, through outreach, education and advocacy. In pursuit of this mission, the Nutrition Consortium engages in the following activities:

• Outreach to low income populations regarding eligibility for food assistance programs, and to provide enrollment information in order to maximize the number of New Yorkers who benefit from these programs.

• Education regarding food assistance programs to the general public, eligible populations, policy makers, existing and potential food program administrators and others through the use of meetings, media, promotional materials and additional documents, research and publications.

• Program development and implementation aimed at designing new programs or improving and coordinating existing governmental food assistance programs, as well as working to establish needed programs throughout the state.

• Policy work with policy makers and administrators to ensure that an adequate and integrated response to hunger is in place, and to ensure that programs are operational consistent with their intent.

• Coalition building to unify varied interests and coordinate the dissemination of information regarding hunger policy and programs throughout the state.

• Research and the publication of findings to identify emerging problems and highlight the existence of hunger in NYS, and to offer recommendations to alleviate hunger through policies and programmatic responses.

In the areas of outreach and education, the Consortium conducts statewide activities for all federal feeding programs. Through the state and federally funded Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP), the Consortium works to expand participation in the federal Food Stamp Program and other food assistance programs. In order to achieve this goal, the Consortium subcontracts with local non-profit community based agencies to conduct outreach for the Food Stamp Program, Summer Food Service Program and the school meals programs.

With federal funding under the Community Food and Nutrition Program (CFNP), the Consortium conducts outreach to expand child nutrition programs and food programs for older adults throughout NYS.

The public policy work of the Consortium is carried out under our Campaign to End Hunger, a privately funded effort supported by foundations and individuals interested in the fight against hunger.

As a statewide organization it is our intent that the impact of our work be felt by all low-income people throughout the state. Certain specific aspects of our work do target or focus on particular sub-groups of the low-income population such as children, seniors, the disabled, legal immigrants, and un- or under-employed adults. We also target some of our work to particular geographic areas, as dictated by need.