Many New Yorkers are balancing tight budgets and increasingly forced to choose between buying nutritious food and paying for other necessities, including rent or utilities, according to a new survey.
A new poll commissioned by No Kid Hungry New York found that two-thirds (67%) of New Yorkers have had to choose between buying enough nutritious food and other necessities, like rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, or transportation costs, in the past year. For families with children, the rate was even higher as three-fourths (74%) reported making difficult trade-offs between paying for groceries and covering basic household expenses.
Overall, 74% of New Yorkers reported their financial situation suffered in the past year due to the cost of food.
Half (50%) of the survey respondents report taking on more debt due to the cost of food. About one-fourth (28%) New Yorkers and four in ten families (39%) have used “buy now, pay later” plans to cover the cost of groceries, according to the survey.
Families of color are also suffering, where 87% of Black families and 84% of Latino families reported having to choose between buying nutritious food and covering basic household expenses, compared with 74% of families overall. In addition, 72% of Black families and 67% percent of Latino families reported taking on more debt due to the cost of food, compared with 57% of families overall.
Overall, 84% percent of New Yorkers say the cost of food is rising faster than their income, showing no improvement since this time last year.
“These findings make clear that families across New York are struggling to keep up with rising food costs and are making impossible choices between groceries and other basic needs,” said Rachel Sabella, director of No Kid Hungry New York. “No child should go hungry in our state. New Yorkers overwhelmingly agree that we need strong, effective food assistance programs and bipartisan action to ensure every child has the food they need to learn, grow and thrive.”
In a breakdown of borough-wide results provided by the organization, the survey found that:
- 73% of Brooklynites have had to choose between buying enough nutritious food and other necessities,
- 79% reported their financial situation suffered in the past year due to the cost of food,
- 48% of Brooklyn residents report taking on more debt due to the cost of food.
The poll also found overwhelming, bipartisan support among New Yorkers for critical food assistance programs: 62% of New Yorkers oppose federal cuts to SNAP and most believe SNAP helps low-income families afford healthy foods (74%) and prevents them from taking on debt (67%).
In addition, 80% of respondents agreed SNAP helps ensure parents can afford enough food for their families, including 91% of Democrats, 78% of Independents, and 66% of Republicans.
The poll was conducted by Aspect Strategic from February 3-10, 2026 and surveyed 1,512 New Yorkers across the state and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5%.
