Sobering statistics in NYS Comptroller report on child poverty rates

A new report takes a close look at child poverty in New York State, and the statistics are sobering.

According to NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s report “New York Children in Need,” one in five children in the state lives in poverty.

“We're talking about over 700,000 Children across our state living in poverty," said DiNapoli.

The numbers are even worse for the City of Buffalo.

Nearly 40% of kids in Buffalo live in poverty — or two out of five children.

Buffalo’s child poverty rate is the seventh highest in the entire country, DiNapoli told 7 News in a Zoom interview Thursday. Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester all are on the list of 10 cities with the highest poverty rates.

Families in poverty face many challenges including substandard housing, lack of adequate food in many cases and lack of social support.

There are many people in Western New York trying to lift children and families out of poverty.

Among them is Lenny Lane, president of F.A.T.H.E.R.S, a group of men who act as mentors to city youth. He organizes two to three fresh food giveaways every week to help families feed their children.

"Get that fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, cheese, eggs and milk, fresh dairy products into the hands of the families where they also can eat, where they also can be healthy, where they... can survive during these most difficult times," Lane told 7 News. "We're talking about families."

Families are struggling across the region, not just in urban areas. Chautauqua County has the fourth highest poverty rate of all counties in New York State, DiNapolio’s report found.

“The cost of living remains incredibly high. Food prices have continued to rise,” said Catherine Shick of FeedMore WNY. “It's still very expensive to potentially fill up your vehicle so you can get to your job. And at the same time, so many pandemic era supports like the expanded child tax credit, like expanded snap benefits, the stimulus payments, they have all ended.”

FeedMore WNY has a program to help children by providing bags of food to schools which students take home in their backpacks.

The bags contain sources of protein such as peanut butter and tuna, canned goods such as pasta with sauce, pears and corn along with shelf-stable milk and cereal bars. “We make sure it's still portable enough for a child to take home,” she said.

DiNapoli called his report “a picture in time to say that we still have this challenge and really to underscore the need for there to be a renewed sense of urgency.”

You can find the full report below.