Stop & Shop and Food Bank for Westchester Hold Policy Forum to Address Hidden Hunger in Westchester County

Bob Yager (center), the Senior Vice President and Division Lead of Stop & Shop’s New York Metro Division, addresses the issue of “Hidden Hunger” in Westchester as New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (far left), County Executive Rob Astorino (2nd from left), Leslie Gordon (2nd from right), the President and CEO of The Food Bank for Westchester, and White Plains Mayor Tom Roach (far right) listen in.

Stop & Shop and The Food Bank for Westchester held a public policy forum to address growing issues of food insecurity and “Hidden Hunger” in Westchester at the White Plains Stop & Shop. The forum was co-chaired by Bob Yager, the Senior Vice President and Division Lead of Stop & Shop’s New York Metro Division, and Leslie Gordon, the President and CEO of The Food Bank for Westchester.

Westchester is New York State’s wealthiest suburban county, but according to New York State data, more than 90,000 residents live in poverty. “Westchester County is, in many ways, a microcosm of New York State economics where wealth is deeply concentrated and poverty is higher than both the national average and the average of any other Northern state,” said Stop & Shop’s Bob Yager. “Westchester’s reputation has promoted a false perception of affluence, and as a consequence, economic insecurity is under reported and often dismissed. Income inequality in Westchester is pronounced. The top fifth earns 20 times what the bottom fifth earns. This is one of the widest income gaps in the nation.”

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach, Assembly Member David Buchwald, New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, John Ravitz, Executive Vice President/COO of the Business Council of Westchester, Dr. Mona Kennedy of New York-Presbyterian, and Kevin McGuire, Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Social Services participated in the forum.

Approximately 200,000 Westchester residents are at risk of hunger or facing food insecurity. 33% of those are children; there are 25,000 Westchester grade school children who receive free or reduced lunch. These children need food over the weekends and on vacations. 22% of Westchester residents who are at risk of hunger or facing food insecurity are senior citizens, and as our population gets grayer, we will see the numbers of hard to reach “seniors in need” increase. The Food Bank for Westchester serves 300 frontline programs and supplies 95% of all food distributed annually across the region’s food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and daycare and residential programs – delivering over 8.4 million pounds of food and 7 million meals to people.