A research center at the State University of New York at New Paltz has released the findings of a two-year study about food access and food insecurity in the City of Poughkeepsie.
The discussion brief from the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach at SUNY New Paltz documents that more than one in four City of Poughkeepsie households experienced food insecurity and that a majority of the city’s households earning $15,000 or less annually were food insecure. The findings show that the location of food stores is a leading contributor. The city has only two grocery stores. The report concludes that the scope of the problem is too large and systemic to be remedied through so-called “emergency” charitable efforts. Rather, the researchers recommend such solutions as starting a mobile farmers’ market or wholesale buying cooperative; creating a bus route, a so-called “Food Loop”, to transport residents to and from food stores; and providing incentives to encourage the sale of healthy foods in Poughkeepsie’s existing small stores.