Matilde Otero, 38, lost her job three days ago, and yesterday visited a New York City food bank on 116th Street in Manhattan so that her children, 13 and 7 years old, do not go without food. At the food bank she received fruit, cereal, grains, meats, and other products.

“I worked in a factory and with the money I earned I supported my children. It is the second time that I come to this place to get food. It is a big help for people like me in this time of crisis,” said Otero, a single mother.

Otero and her two children are an example of the effect that the economic crisis is having on low-income people in New York, particularly children, according to a study titled “Child Hunger: The Unhealthy Return on Missed Investments,” presented yesterday by the Food Bank.

The study found that one of every four children lives below the city’s poverty level – 50 percent more than at the national level – and one of every five needs emergency food programs.

Carlos Rodriguez, of the Food Bank, said that one of the recommendations to confront the problem is reminding elected officials that programs helping children should not be cut.

“We know that in times of crisis we have to make sacrifices, but we should not sacrifice the lives of our children. We need school and after-school food programs not only not to be cut, but to be increased,” said Rodriguez.

The president and the CEO of the New York City Food Bank, Lucy Cabrera, said that allowing more children to fall below the poverty level is not an option.

The Food Bank offered food to nearly 397,000 children in New York City during 2007, 48 percent more than in 2004.

Christina Kaye, coordinator of the food program at Food Change, where Otero was helped yesterday, said that in her pantry, food is distributed to more than 120 families on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and in the cafeteria, free food is served to 500 people a day, from Monday through Friday.