POUGHKEEPSIE — An estimated one in five Dutchess County residents, or about 60,000 people, lack reliable access to enough food, according to new findings presented to the county legislature.  Renee Fillette-Miccio, executive director of and chair of the Dutchess County Food Security Council, told lawmakers last month that the scope of the county’s hunger problem is broader than many realize.

She shared results from a comprehensive assessment of food security in Dutchess County, including a study by the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz, which found that as many as 108,000 residents experience some level of hunger or food insecurity. That includes those who depend on government programs, food pantries, or family support to meet basic nutritional needs.  Fillette-Miccio said the county’s network of 55 food pantries is struggling to keep up with rising demand. “We have had an increase in utilization of our pantry at Dutchess Outreach. For forty-seven years, we saw about 200-250 people come into our pantry a month. Now we’re in the thousands… We have to limit access and the amount of food,” she said.  She added that 70 percent of pantries report difficulty sourcing enough food, and that the system relies heavily on surplus items from grocery stores, which she described as often being of poor quality. Exclusive agreements between the regional food bank and local grocery chains further limit what pantries can offer, she said.

“The charitable food system could never, ever bridge the $25 million meal gap in Dutchess County,” Fillette-Miccio told legislators, referring to the difference between what residents can afford and what they need.

Local farmers are also facing challenges that impact the county’s food supply. More than half of Dutchess County farmers lost money last year, with the average farm income at negative $23,000, according to data presented at the county fair’s agriculture forum. Fillette-Miccio said the county lacks a food hub or major aggregation facility to connect local farmers with buyers, and inadequate cold storage and transportation infrastructure remain obstacles. While institutions such as Vassar College and Northwell Health have expressed interest in sourcing local food, farmers currently cannot meet the demand.

Fillette-Miccio recommended that the legislature devote staff to food coordination efforts, noting that most of the work is done by volunteers, who make up 90 percent of pantry workers nationwide. She also called for a shift toward farm-based food sourcing, greater participation in the state’s Farm to School Program, and the creation of a food policy subcommittee within the Legislature.

While she made no specific funding request, Fillette-Miccio urged lawmakers to treat food access as a matter of policy, not charity. “Hunger is not inevitable,” she said. “Hunger in the United States is very clearly a policy decision.”


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