In an extraordinary effort to stave off a potential hunger crisis, the Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, has announced a state of emergency and committed $65 million in emergency funding. The recently announced SNAP benefit interruption starting November 1 for nearly three million New Yorkers, due to the protracted federal government shutdown, was the immediate trigger for this initiative.
Millions, of whom children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable, could find themselves facing food insecurity in these last days of federal food aid, which presently amounts to $650 million per month for the state. The proclamation gives the Governor the authority to take immediate and necessary action to mobilize state resources and support the beleaguered system of food banks and pantries.
Emergency Food Funding
The $65 million lifeline that the state is providing seeks to support an emergency food system that is already under great strain. Of this amount, $40 million is set aside for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, or HPNAP, which serves a vast network of food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. An additional $25 million is earmarked for Nourish NY.
The funding is projected to feed approximately 40 million meals statewide. Part of this emergency order is to deploy the SUNY Empire State Service Corps to help with staffing local food banks facing a surge in demand. But this intervention from New York is a stopgap measure.
Officials have stressed that no state could hope to fully backfill for what is an immense and critical federal program: the SNAP. New York is also one of the more than two dozen states that are suing the federal administration to compel it to release the cash for contingency funds legally available for restoring federal SNAP payments.
SNAP Crisis Impact
The upcoming end of SNAP benefits will be an imminent public health and economic catastrophe. Nearly three million New Yorkers have SNAP benefits to buy groceries. For the large proportion of these households, especially those with children or elderly members, SNAP is not an adjunct but the main source of food cash.
Withdrawal of about $650 million a month in federal food aid will trigger domino effects. Local food providers are already reporting usage at record highs, exceeding their capacity as people rush to store or search for new food sources.
According to a Columbia University Study, a one-month cut-off can drive tens of thousands of New York City residents below the poverty line. Except for the humanitarian crisis, the economic ripple effect is enormous since federal assistance supports local grocery stores, bodegas, and farmers across the state.
The emergency funds of the state are a buffer to protect its most vulnerable citizens from the political gridlock in Washington.
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