It was found that three out of four New York City residents experienced financial hardship last year due to rising food costs. According to a survey released on the 24th by the New York City anti-hunger organization “No Kid Hungry New York,” 74% of New York City residents stated that their financial situation had worsened, including increasing debt, due to rising food costs.
84% of all respondents said that the problem of rising food costs had not improved compared to the previous year and that food expenses were increasing faster than their income. Furthermore, more than half of the respondents (52%) stated that their debt had increased last year due to rising food costs.
74% of households with children reported having to make a difficult choice between food expenses and essential living costs, such as utilities, rent, mortgages, and medical bills. For all households, 67% faced a difficult choice between the two. To cover food expenses, more than one in four people (28%) were found to have used interest-bearing “Bought-Now-Paying” (BNPL) plan apps, such as Afterpay or Klarna. Four out of ten people (39%) used BNPL plan apps, reaching nearly half (48%) of households of color.
This survey was conducted from February 3 to 10 with 1,512 participants, and the margin of error is ±2.5%.