With the cost of food, rent, and fuel on the rise, it’s logical that some New Yorkers are having more trouble putting food on the table. But the numbers from a report issued earlier this month by the Food Bank for New York City are startling. A staggering 3.1 million residents, or 38 percent of the New York City population, said they had difficulty affording needed food last year. This figure is up a substantial 55 percent from just five years ago when 2 million residents expressed difficulty, in a similar Food Bank survey.

And while low-income households continue to have the most difficulty affording food, the survey also revealed that an increasing number of employed, college-educated, and middle-income residents have joined the ranks of those facing down an emptier cupboard.

According to