Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact community and mutual aid programs have had on the issue of food insecurity in Broome County. Food insecurity in the Southern Tier of New York is an issue that low-income communities have long been facing but, in a matter of weeks, the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had a drastic effect on the ongoing crisis. During the beginning of the pandemic, many government assistance programs, such as SNAP, were overwhelmed which resulted in extremely long wait times and delays in the reviewal of applications; and in most cases, households who do benefit from these programs still report being food insecure. This led to a drastic increase in the utilization of food banks and mutual aid groups such as the Northside Mutual Aid Group, CHOW, and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. Through volunteering and interviews with organizers of local mutual aid groups and food banks, I will gain insight into how these programs are run and what accommodations had to be made due to the pandemic. Additionally, a literature review on both the socioeconomic status of the area and the effectiveness of mutual aid and community programs will be conducted in order to highlight a correlation between the two. I believe that the results of this study will show that these programs have been vital in addressing the damaging impact the pandemic has had on food insecurity in Broome County.