Bread, diapers and hope: how Trinity church feeds New York’s hungry | New York

On a cool morning in Lower Manhattan this month, the line outside Trinity Commons, a modern extension of New York’s historic Trinity Church, stretched beyond the end of the block.

Hundreds of people stood in 44 F cold, many with young children, waiting their turn for the Compassion Market food bank.

“Today is how far we’ve come,” said Vidia Cordero, the church’s assistant community impact manager. The bank had been open less than an hour and they “already had about 250 inside.”

In total, the famous Broadway church saw more than 1,000 people the previous week, on Tuesday and Thursday alone, the food bank’s opening days. Huge numbers of people in need have now become the new normal.

Cordero described a staggering growth in visitors since the federal government began suspending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) benefits amid the recent record-long government shutdown. But the increase in hunger began well before that, with a constant rise in food prices since the start of the year, under the weight of tariffs and sanctions imposed by Donald Trump. stubborn inflation was felt throughout the United States.

An October study from S&P Global found that companies are expected to pay at least $1.2 trillion more in expenses in 2025 than expected. But according to researchers, the burden is now shifting to American consumers. They calculated that two-thirds of the “spending shock,” or more than $900 billion, will be absorbed by Americans. Last month, the Yale Budget Lab estimated that the tariffs would cost households nearly $2,400 more per year.

In further evidence of the affordability crisis, the average cost of groceries for a family of four in the United States has soared to a record $1,030 per month, according to the Kobeissi Letter. This represents an increase of $280 since 2017, when the average family spent $750 per month.

Due to the increase in demand, the church had to find a new way to line up visitors outside. By the end of this particular day, Cordero estimated they would have served at least 550 people.

The location of the church couldn’t be more contrasting if you tried. Not only does its neo-Gothic architecture stand out among Manhattan’s skyscrapers, but the building literally sits across the street from Wall Street.

The New York Stock Exchange, in the heart of the financial district of the largest American city populated by billionaires, in the richest country on the planet, is just a stone’s throw away. Commuters and tourists bustle just steps from where people line up for the compassionate market.

Trinity responded to the increase in recipients by creating multiple ways to get food to those in need. “We have no-kitchen bags,” Cordero said, packages with ready-to-eat products aimed at those “who don’t know how to cook,” such as people without housing or those living in shelters without kitchens. “More and more people want bags not intended for cooks,” she said.

For others, the “customer choice marketplace” allows visitors to shop “essentially as a shopping experience,” choosing items from each category within set limits. In front of the church itself, next to the historic cemetery which includes the burial grounds of Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza, daily hot meals are served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In addition to sending Thanksgiving holiday distributions to 43 different locations, the church also hosted its own Thanksgiving meal for those in need at St. Paul’s Chapel, including all the ingredients for the holiday.

Cordero noted that families and individuals regularly come from all five boroughs of New York City. “They commute an hour to get here to shop,” she said.

In addition to food, Trinity Church’s work now extends to other essential products. “We serve clothing as well as food,” Cordero said. “We have appointments for clothing, toiletries, blankets, winter coats, winter boots.” All items, including clothing, are new, with food sourced from local markets and clothing ordered by the church on Amazon.

But demand often exceeds supply: “There are times when people who need clothes sometimes have to cut the line and refuse them because we don’t have any more,” she said, shaking her head.

On this day, one can see an overwhelming number of visitors carrying babies and hence one of the biggest increases is in infant supplies. Tuesdays are now largely devoted to this cause. “We have seen a sharp increase [demand for] diapers and formula, over 200 people a day just for those things,” Cordero said. “The moms are so happy, and so are the dads, because we started providing formula.”

Cordero described the process of assembling “baby packages” for expectant parents, including a stroller and “everything they would need for the baby.”

Trinity’s efforts are part of a broader mobilization within the Church’s philanthropic network. Bea De la Torre, Director of Philanthropy, said, “Recently, in light of the government shutdown, we allocated nearly $400,000 to organizations that are working with Snap recipients who were not receiving their benefits or working to distribute food to a broader range of individuals. »

The church, De la Torre said, “was able to act extremely quickly,” identifying beneficiaries who were expected to increase demand and providing them with funds within days. “I received the most beautiful thank you notes you can imagine that make you cry and make you so proud to be able to do this job,” she said.

De la Torre emphasized that Trinity’s strength lies in being both a direct service provider and funder of other charities, a versatility that allows the organization to meet a wide range of needs.

Trinity has spent $1.6 million to provide 2.5 million meals in 2024, and $3.3 million has been spent so far to provide 5 million meals in 2025.

Inside the church’s compassion marketplace, things move quickly. Volunteers push carts, restock shelves and greet families in multiple languages.

As the wind chill brought temperatures further down and the queue outside still stretched, people were continually greeted with proven efficiency. As the December holidays approach, work will not slow down.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Cordero said. “Giving people what they need that they’re not getting elsewhere.”