NY to provide $30 million in emergency food funds

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $30 million in emergency food assistance funds Monday, as millions of New Yorkers—including tens of thousands of households in Rochester—stand to lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and related federal benefits should the government shutdown extend through November.

The current federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, has become the nation’s second-longest shutdown, behind only a 35-day closure in 2018. In early October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notified regional and state SNAP directors that the agency would not have sufficient funds to cover food benefits should the government shutdown continue through November. States have now been prevented from distributing federal funds to recipients until further notice.

Approximately 28,000 households in Rochester would lose access to SNAP benefits in November. Over 31 percent of the city’s households rely on the federal program. Members of Voices of Community Activists and Leaders joined the Children’s Agenda at St. Peter’s Kitchen last week calling attention to the impact on food-insecure communities in Rochester.

“If these benefits are not paid, there’s about 64,000 (individuals) in the Rochester area that are going to be affected,” says St. Peter’s Kitchen CEO Robert Boyd. “That means we’re going to have to provide more food for the community. And we’re at a time when supplies and other sources of food are diminishing. So, we’re really concerned about what’s going to happen on November 1st.”

Tax credits that would subsidize Affordable Care Act premiums remain the primary barrier to reopening the government. Congressional Democrats have refused to vote on any bill that does not include tax credits to subsidize individual premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have claimed they are open to reviewing these provisions once the government is funded, as the U.S. Senate—lacking the votes needed to reach the 60-vote threshold—has found itself unable to move forward on reopening.

“We are seeing the most outright divide between the haves and the have-nots that this country has ever witnessed,” says Lisle Coleman, Western New York organizer with VOCAL. “Those at the top, the super elite, are becoming richer and richer while our families get more and more destitute. … Without basic services like health care, we will see our community members get sicker and sicker, and we will see more deaths across the community as these cuts go into place.”

The most recent Oct. 22 vote failed 54-46, with Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer both voting no on an appropriations bill without an ACA tax credit extension. A version of the bill that included such provisions was most recently voted on Oct. 9, failing 47-50; both of New York’s senators voted yes. The USDA’s webpage now features the claim that Senate Democrats have remained the primary barrier to issuing benefits.

“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the webpage reads. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued Nov. 1. … (Senate Democrats) can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”

The USDA, however, has a multiyear contingency fund as outlined in its lapse of funding plans that exists to supplement staff and operations if a federal shutdown impacts funding. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, contingency funding—estimated as $6 billion available through fiscal year 2026—remains available for SNAP benefits even after allocations for administrative expenses. The USDA has not provided additional information regarding the use of contingency funding to state agencies. On Oct. 24, Rep. Joe Morelle joined House Democrats in a letter urging USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to utilize the funding should the shutdown continue.

The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service did not respond to a request for comment.

“The motto of the Trump administration apparently is see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil, trying to make us all deaf, dumb, and blind to the evil that’s being done to our neighbors and their children by these cuts to food assistance,” said Larry Marx, CEO of the Children’s Agenda Larry Marx. “But we stand here to say we see what’s going on, we’re not dumb, and we will not be silent.”

State programs received temporary federal emergency funding for the Special SNAP for Women, Infants, and Children during October that the National WIC Association claims will run out for certain state agencies as November approaches.

“WIC is a lifeline for nearly 7 million pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and young children. Even short-term disruption to WIC’s healthy food benefits, lactation support, nutrition education, screenings, and referrals can have long-term negative impacts on families,” says NWA president and CEO Georgia Machell in a statement. “Without additional funding, state WIC agencies may be forced to take drastic measures that prevent families from accessing the services they need, such as halting food benefits. This would directly jeopardize the health and nutrition of millions of mothers, babies, and young children.”

While the New York Department of Health has announced the shutdown will not affect WIC operations throughout the state, Rochester’s advocates have lamented the impact federal shifts to SNAP and WIC would have on local communities—as families and households risk losing access to food should benefits not be funded through the month of November.

“I am pleading with those in leadership, those in power, (and) those in the administration, to put yourselves in the shoes of the families that are going to be suffering,” says Isabel Rosa, parent advocacy coordinator at the Children’s Agenda. “Put yourself in the shoes of the people and the parents who are going to be skipping meals, or who aren’t already skipping meals. … All children deserve to be healthy, and they deserve to know that we care about them.”

Hochul’s transfusion of $30 million in state emergency food assistance follows a previous announcement of over $11 million in emergency food bank funding, as food banks across the nation have seen upticks in demand as the shutdown continues. Foodlink CEO Julia Tedesco has said the nonprofit’s network of food pantries and meal programs reported 1.8 million requests for food assistance last year, as visits to food pantries have grown 36 percent.

Foodlink did not respond to a request for comment.

“In a matter of short time, we’re going to have older New Yorkers, kids, (and) families, hurting even more,” says Hochul. “All we’re saying is just unfreeze the SNAP funding. You can do this. Get back to work. Stop the shutdown, stop taking away health care, stop taking away food. Just start looking out for the American people.”

Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s inaugural cohort.

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