Food Pantry Access

Introduction

Food pantry access is a major obstacle that hinders the extent to which food insecure individuals can have their food needs met. Though the East End is not devoid of emergency food providers, access issues attributed to their spatial distribution across the area, distance from public transportation networks, and limited hours of operation make it difficult for those in need to depend on pantries for relief. We assembled two dashboards related to food pantry access, which focus on geographical accessibility and hours of operation respectively. The former takes into account geographic areas of high potential food need that are not located proximate to food pantries. This dashboard also factors in issues related to transportation and explores how lack of access to a vehicle might impact food instability. The second dashboard focuses on temporal access, highlighting the difficulties working people struggling with food insecurity might have when navigating pantries with limited service hours.

Pantry Locations and Potential Need

Emergency food providers, such as pantries, play a critical role in addressing the needs of individuals and households who are experiencing food instability. Traditionally, these resources support those who are moderately food insecure and staving off hunger and malnourishment, as well as individuals and households who are severely food insecure. However, for many, food pantries also provide relief beyond hunger related emergencies, and represent an indispensable long-term supplement for meeting food needs. This has especially been true following the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, which has resulted in supply chain disruptions and rising food prices, coupled with record levels of inflation. While the East End hosts a network of pantries and emergency food providers, they are unevenly distributed, often located far from the highest need areas. For instance, in Tuckahoe, Shelter Island Heights, and Northwest Harbor—the hamlets with the area’s highest levels of poverty—there are no emergency food providers at all. As a result, those experiencing food instability may be required to travel long distances to have their needs met, posing particular obstacles for households without access to a vehicle.

This dashboard aims to describe the relationship between household poverty level, households with no vehicles, and the spatial distribution of food pantries in the East End. Each circle on the bubble chart represents an East End village or hamlet and is color coded by corresponding town. The number of households without a vehicle, as well as the village’s poverty level, can be seen by hovering over each bubble whose size coincides with the percentage of households in poverty. The map below shows the spatial distribution of food pantries in the East End, with each black dot representing an operating pantry. Each census-designated-place is also color coded in accordance to its household poverty level, which can be adjusted higher to account for a definition of ‘poverty’ that is more attuned to the East End’s high cost of living. When referenced alongside the results of the bubble chart, the map allows us to observe the geographic areas in the East End where food instability may be exacerbated by a lack of food pantries, coupled with a high number of households with no vehicle access.

According to a recent study conducted by Long Island Cares, many participants choose to only utilize the food pantry closest to their home [1]. However, when accessing the nearest pantry still requires a commute by car, the barriers to food security become even higher, especially for households facing poverty. In Tuckahoe, for example, there are no operating food pantries, 31.3% of households live at or below the 100% poverty level, and 47 households also reported not having a vehicle. About 15 miles away in Riverhead, however, there are nine active food pantries in close proximity to one another, illustrating the spatial inequities of the East End’s emergency food resources. While there are three pantries in nearby Hampton Bays, there are no reliable public transportation options from Tuckahoe, making a vehicle essential for pantry access.

Pantry Hours

There are 32 food pantries on the East End of Long Island (cite Long Island Cares for this info), but their uneven spatial distribution and service hours may pose potential access challenges for those struggling with food insecurity. Only 11 pantries are open more than 3 days a week and only 10 are open after 5pm, making them all but inaccessible to those who work during regular business hours. Only 2 pantries, of which both are in Riverhead, are open on the weekends. Furthermore, 10 out of the 32 pantries are most densely clustered around a small geographic area of Riverhead, which is a high-need area with respect to food insecurity. However, areas such as Calverton to the west and Northampton to the south are similarly high-need. In the former, 600 people were estimatedreported to be food insecure in 2020 but there is no operating food pantry. In the latter, 560 people were reported to be food insecure, who have the option of visiting one pantry within the census tract. In addition to these potential areas of need, much of the inland areas of the East End do not have an operating food pantry at all. Though these tend not to be the areas with the highest levels of reported food insecurity in the county, there are still significant underserved demographics who must travel long distances in order to access emergency food providers.

This dashboard overlays the spatial distribution of East End pantries with the geographies of food insecurity, poverty, and median income level, which are displayed by census tract and color-coded in accordance to the level of food insecurity, poverty, and median income by neighborhood. The filters to the right allow us to hone in on the details surrounding pantries’ hours of operation. Using these filters, we can see, for example, that in a census tract comprising North Sea and Tuckahoe, there were reportedly 250 food insecure individuals and no operating food pantry. In Shelter Island Heights, there were 240 reported food insecure individuals and also no food pantry. It is our hope that this dashboard can inform policies and interventions aimed at mitigating the spatial and temporal inequities of emergency food providers on the East End.

[1] Long Island Cares. 2022. “The State of Food Insecurity on Long Island.” https://issuu.com/kcrawford1352/docs/licares_hunger_report_9.2022?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=www.licares.org.