Among them (clockwise from top left): Luz Rodriguez, who has been jobless since the 87-year-old man she cared for for 15 years died of COVID-19; George Sanches, who lost his job at a high school because of the pandemic; Soja Pintong and Muhammad Mostafa, who were both waiting to pick up food at the Queens pantry CENTI (pictured at the top of this article).



Food banks and other service providers are working aggressively to keep up with demand. From March through the end of October, U.S. food banks distributed 4.2 billion meals. More than 80 percent of food banks are serving more people than they did last year. Safety nets are being stretched by the historic need.