The city as approved additional funding to keep the Emergency Food Assistance Program running, after food pantries and anti-hungry activists lobbied for it.

The activists and some City Council members say that despite New York's status as one of the wealthiest cities in the world, too many residents need help putting food on the table. Estimates show about 1.4 million New Yorkers rely on food pantries or soup kitchens.

The additional funding will aid charities like Southside Mission, a food pantry in Williamsburg since the 1970s.

Councilman Stephen Levin says the de Blasio administration has added $7.2 million in additional funding, bringing the total to $18 million next year.