ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a “food emergency” across the state Thursday as SNAP benefits for needy New Yorkers will stop this weekend due to the federal shutdown.
An additional $65 million will be freed up to go to food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency food providers across the state as the federal shutdown reached 30 days, Hochul announced at a food bank in Harlem.
“We’re not going to be passive observers to this,” she said, blaming Republicans in Washington for the stalemate that led to the looming freeze on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state-wide ‘food emergency’ over SNAP food stamps freeze during the ongoing government shutdown. Matthew McDermott“They said there’s nothing we can do. I’m not buying that,” Hochul said.
Democrats in the US Senate have been stonewalling temporary spending measures, demanding that Republicans negotiate on restoring subsidies to help defray the cost of Obamacare health premiums.
“My message to Republicans in Washington: get back to work, restore the healthcare premiums, turn the federal government back on and start feeding hungry Americans once again,” Hochul said.
NY Governor Kathy Hochul stops into a city run food bank in Manhattan as the SNAP program closes due to the ongoing government shutdown. Matthew McDermott
“My message to Republicans in Washington: get back to work, restore the healthcare premiums, turn the federal government back on and start feeding hungry Americans once again,” Hochul said. Getty Images
The freeze on SNAP means low-income households will see no new funding for Electronic Benefit Transfer cards after Saturday.
New York has joined with 25 other states in suing the Trump administration to try and force it to tap into contingency funds to keep benefits flowing.
The freeze on SNAP means low-income households will see no new funding for Electronic Benefit Transfer cards after Saturday. Gregory P. MangoThe state’s emergency funding will not replace existing SNAP funds, but will only work to backfill other emergency food programs such as the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program and Nourish NY.
That’s on top of $30 million of existing funding for those programs she touted earlier this week.
Hochul said New York receives and distributes around $650 million per month for SNAP from the feds.
Legal Aid released a statement Thursday calling on Hochul to work out a way to get current SNAP recipients benefits directly as states like Virginia have promised.
Hochul said New York receives and distributes around $650 million per month for SNAP from the feds. Aristide Economopoulos“We call on Governor Hochul to allocate up to $650 million in State funds to ensure full SNAP benefits in November. The State has both financial means and the responsibility to prevent families from going hungry,” the legal aid statement read.
Hochul dismissed the idea of bringing back the state legislature or taking “extraordinary” measures to backfill the feds.
“We’re not going to do those extraordinary measures like bringing back the legislature or taxes on people to make up for the federal government’s failure,” Hochul told reporters.
This is Hochul’s second press conference on the subject last week, with an interceding trip to California for political fundraisers in between.
Hochul’s office estimates the $65 million will fund food for roughly 40 million meals. That would equate to roughly 14 meals for each of the 3 million New Yorker’s using SNAP.
