Emergency Assistance Programs

Although emergency food programs are intended to serve as a last resort for households in need of short-term, immediate food assistance, unfortunately, more and more households are turning to the emergency food system as a regular source of food.

New York State’s emergency food system is comprised of emergency food relief organizations (EFROs), which include food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters. Across the state, eight regional food banks solicit bulk food donations, serve as a warehouse to store the donated food, and distribute the food to local community food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters in their regions. Food banks also make funding available and offer technical support to the local emergency food providers.

EFROs receive funding from a wide variety of sources, primarily private charity. Some rely completely on charitable donations, while others also receive state and federal monies and/or commodities. New York State’s Department of Health’s Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) provides financial and technical assistance to 2,100 emergency food relief organizations across the state. According to the Department of Health, over 100 million meals are provided each year through food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters in New York State.

For more information about emergency food programs, see the website links to the regional food banks in our partner link section of this website.

Other Nutrition Programs

Senior Nutrition Programs

Summer Food Program

WIC