A Day at the Food Pantry

<p>On a day early this fall, Nikita Stewart, who covers social services for The New York Times, and the Daily producers Annie Brown and Stella Tan spent a day at Council of Peoples Organization, a food pantry in Brooklyn, speaking to its workers and clients.</p><p>As with many other pantries in the city, it has seen its demand rocket during the pandemic as many New Yorkers face food shortages. And with the year drawing to a close, many of New York City’s pantries — often run with private money<strong> </strong>— face a funding crisis.</p><p>Today, the story of one day in the operations of a New York food pantry. </p><p><br /></p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/nikita-stewart?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"><strong>Nikita Stewart</strong></a>,<strong> </strong>who covers social services for The New York Times; <strong>Annie Brown</strong>, a senior audio producer for The Times; and <strong>Stella Tan</strong>,<strong> </strong>an associate audio producer for The Times. </p><p><br /></p><p>We want to hear from you. Fill out our survey about The Daily and other shows at: <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedailysurvey?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedailysurvey</a></p><p><br /></p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p><br /></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Here are<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/23/nyregion/nyc-hunger-covid.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> five key statistics</a> that show how hunger is worsening in New York City.</li><li>An estimated 1.5 million New Yorkers can’t afford food, and tens of thousands have shown up at the city’s food pantries since the pandemic began. But <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/20/nyregion/nyc-food-banks.html?searchResultPosition=2?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">there is relief and hope</a> when they are at home cooking.</li></ul>