High property taxes on Long Island have helped push food insecurity up by 346% over the past few years.
That’s how many more meal requests the Interfaith Nutrition Network have seen between 2019 and 2023.
While donations to food banks are up by close to 30%, this year the Long Island Business Networks says that there is up to a 70% increase in people applying for food assistance.
This is far worse than during COVID, and the supply chain issues we faced during lockdowns.
On Long Island alone, 221,000 people are considered food insecure. Meaning there is not enough food to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Among those are 65,000 children.
Why Food Insecurity Is Rising So Fast
Inflation is the obvious culprit in this crisis. Grocery stores are charging dramatically more for items, while delivering less in packages (shrinkflation).
You can’t go out to eat, as tipflation now sees food places asking for tips as high as 30%, on top of already inflated food prices, even when staff aren’t actually providing table service.
Of course, at the same time, many food producers are reporting record profits. Some up 700%.
AI is another major factor. Even with the tens of thousands of layoffs we’ve recently seen, it is just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come in the months ahead. Hours are being cut, and job roles are being axed.
Then we have high housing costs, which on Long Island are greatly driven by high and rising property taxes.
At least in the case of people being fired or price gouging by grocery stores there are sometimes investigations that attempt to hold them accountable.
Yet, in spite of almost half of all local annual property tax bills knowingly being flawed and overinflated, nothing has been done about it for years.
Whether you rent or own, high property taxes are driving up your housing costs.
What Can You Do?
Trying to explain to your kids that you just don’t have enough money for more food or food they like is one of the toughest things you can deal with in life. So, what can you do about it?
- Apply for government food assistance
- Seek local help from food banks and churches
- Stop paying all but the most essential bills
- Appeal and lower your annual property taxes with the help of Property Tax Adjusters, Ltd.