City to Give $1M to Soup Kitchens

Mayor Bloomberg announced that the City will give soup kitchens and food pantries $1 million extra funding and will provide a new 311 system for hunger assistance that will be staffed by city workers, instead of being automated. The mayor said that the money is coming from the federal government as part of the bonus the city earned by boosting food stamp program numbers. The 311 operators will handle calls about emergency food between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 3 p.m. Saturdays.