What happens when a trip to the grocery store starts to feel like another monthly loan payment? In New York, that is no longer a fringe problem.
As tatewide poll of 1,512 residents, conducted February 3 to 10 by Aspect Strategic for No Kid Hungry New York, found that 84% said food prices are rising faster than their income, 67% said they had to choose between nutritious food and essentials like rent, utilities, or transportation in the past year, and 50% said they took on new debt because of food costs.
That may be the clearest sign of the pressure right now. For a growing share of households, groceries are no longer just a weekly expense. They are becoming something to finance.
More than one in four New Yorkers said they used “buy now, pay later” plans to cover food bills, and among families with children the strain was even sharper, with 57% reporting food-related debt and 39% relying on installment-style payments to keep food on the table.
In practical terms, that means the supermarket bill is colliding with the electric bill, the subway fare, and the rent check all at once.
Black and Latino households are carrying the heaviest burden
The burden is not landing evenly. According to the poll, 87% of Black families and 84% of Latino families said they had to choose between food and other necessities. Debt levels were also higher in those communities, reaching 72% among Black families and 67% among Latino families.
Mothers with children also reported heavier financial strain than fathers, which suggests that, for the most part, the shock from higher food prices is hitting the same households already carrying the thinnest margin for error.
SNAP cuts are running into broad public resistance
There is also a blunt political message in the findings. Sixty-two percent of New Yorkers opposed cuts to SNAP, while 80% said the program helps parents afford enough food for their families.
Support crossed party lines, including 91% of Democrats, 78% of independents, and 66% of Republicans. Rachel Sabella, director of No Kid Hungry New York, said the data shows families are “struggling to keep up with rising food costs.”
This is not only a New York problem. USDA says 18.4% of U.S. households with children were food insecure in 2024, and in 9.1% of those households both children and adults faced food insecurity sometime during the year.
That helps explain why this poll lands with such force. When food starts showing up as debt, hunger is no longer an abstract policy debate. It is a kitchen table problem.
The official press release was published on No Kid Hungry New York.
