The Meal Gap

In New York City, we measure distances by avenues and streets, the wait for the subway, or the amount of time spent hailing a cab.

However, NYC’s official measure of food insecurity is the “Meal Gap,” which represents the meals missing from households with limited budgets for food.

foodbank.nyc.org mapped out the meal gap in New York City, and you can see where hunger lives. (foodbank.nyc.org)

The different meal gaps within NYC highlight the inequality faced by different New Yorkers. The richer areas of Manhattan have an annual meal gap of 3 million meals. However, other areas including West Harlem and moving north, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Fort George, and Inwood, have double the food insecurity, with a meal gap of more than 6 million meals per year.