Federal food assistance cuts would crush 1.8M NYers, city officials say

New York City officials and anti-hunger groups are bracing for deep cuts by Republicans in Congress to the federal food stamp program that feeds more residents than ever before: 1.8 million people across the city, including more than half a million children.

City officials estimate even conservative reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, could amount to a loss of $870 million a year for the city — or $130 a month for a family of three. Food insecurity organizations are now pushing the Adams administration to pump up city funding for local pantries. At the state level, advocates are hoping to set a minimum monthly payment for SNAP as well as increase funding for food banks.

But those efforts wouldn’t be enough to make up any such major gulf left by the federal government.

Emergency food advocates said the consequences would devastate the one in five New Yorkers who use SNAP dollars, and also affect the local economy as people spend less in grocery stores, bodegas and farmers markets. They also warned that the city’s food pantries and soup kitchens could be overwhelmed.

“ There's really no way that the city and the state can step up and fill holes of those magnitudes, ” said Molly Wasow Park, commissioner of the Department of Social Services.

SNAP benefits are distributed to individuals and families who qualify through EBT cards. The program is meant to supplement food costs for those who earn too little, have disabilities or have lost their jobs. The program began during the Great Depression and remains a lifeline for families.

Who receives SNAP benefits?

SNAP benefits are allotted monthly to households that meet certain income requirements. For example, a family of four earning $46,800 a year or less would generally qualify and receive a maximum of $975 a month. The same size family earning $62,400 or less could also qualify if they have an older adult in the home, a family member with a disability or dependent care expenses.

Of the approximately 1.8 million city residents receiving SNAP benefits, about 530,000 are 60 years or older. Another 560,000 are children.

Brooklyn has the highest number of SNAP recipients among the five boroughs, data provided by the city shows. According to the numbers, 35% of SNAP recipients, or 627,000, live in Brooklyn. That’s followed by 27% in the Bronx, 20% in Queens, 13% in Manhattan and 4% in Staten Island.

Nineteen percent of households receiving SNAP are working.

Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, said many people think hunger and homelessness go hand in hand, but often that’s not the case.

“The two are one and the same in the public's eye, when in fact, 90-95%o f the people who are food insecure in New York aren't homeless. They're just low-income," Berg said. "They're not the person panhandling on the subway, they're the home healthcare attendant living down the block from you."

SNAP recipient Maria Espinoza, 55, said the benefits are even more crucial now as food prices remain stubbornly high. The $200 a month she receives for her and her teenage son isn’t enough to feed them.

“I try my best to make it last and I search for the most economical items, it’s very stressful,” she said. Espinoza, who works as a home attendant, has received SNAP for years but recently lost her job.

How much does SNAP provide?

On average, SNAP recipients get $6.20 a day, according to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities. That could be rolled back to $4.80 a day per person under one of the proposals lawmakers are considering, which would roll back monthly benefits to what they were in 2021, the last time they were updated to better reflect American diets and food costs. The Republican-led Congress tasked the House Agriculture Committee to slash $230 billion over 10 years from the programs it oversees and the bulk of that is expected to come from SNAP.

“This would be a tsunami of pain for struggling New Yorkers and would give us the greatest hunger crisis we've had since the Great Depression in New York city,” Berg said.

About two-thirds of households receiving SNAP in the city receive the highest amount for their family size and city officials estimate one of the proposed cuts could reduce payments for a family of three receiving the maximum amount by as much as $130 a month, resulting in $1,560 in lost benefits a year.

How much can city services and local food pantries fill in the gaps?

Anti-hunger groups are lobbying the city to increase yearly funding for a critical food emergency program called Community Food Connection from last year’s budget of $57 million to $100 million.

But Gregory Silverman, CEO of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, said even if that happens, it won’t be nearly enough to make up for the expected federal loss.

“ This is going to help fill some bellies, but the need is just too great. Policy is where we actually need to make change. Handing out more food isn't going to do it,” he said.

Berg said  the federal safety net equals 17 times the dollar amount of food that’s distributed by every charity in New York.

A recent survey by the nonprofit No Kid Hungry New York, found 52% of New Yorkers have taken on debt to pay their grocery bills in the last year amid soaring food prices and the end of pandemic-era benefits.

Outside Silverman’s food pantry at 86th Street and West End Avenue, a steady parade of people pick up fresh produce and grains.

Silverman said the need for food is 50% higher than during the pandemic, and any decreases to federal programs like Medicaid, housing or SNAP would push some pantries to close their doors.

“You're going to see more hunger on the streets. I think you're going to see a lot of pantries cutting the amount of food they give back in half to be able to give less food to more people,” he said. “There's going to be just more demands on a charity safety net that has never been able to and cannot fill the gap.”

How does SNAP affect the local economy?

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, said she remained optimistic the cuts wouldn’t be as deep as some fear. But she warned that SNAP reductions wouldn’t just be detrimental to families who rely on the benefits, but the local economy, too.

“The ripple effect is clearly on retailers and the agricultural industry of the state and the whole retail economy since it’s an important source of revenue,” she said.

While SNAP cuts may not be the largest financial cut the city is facing, “It’s aimed at the lowest margins business. Agriculture and retail are very low margin sectors, so it doesn’t have to be a huge number to have a dramatic impact,” Wylde said.

City officials estimate more than $3 million of SNAP benefits are redeemed at farmers markets.

Jacob Santistevan, 35, also receives SNAP and says the program helps families like his afford to live in the city with a young child. His son is 11 months old. Without SNAP to help subsidize his groceries, the restaurant manager said, “ it's going to be harder to pay my rent. That, at end of the day, that's what it comes down to.”

“It's going to be choices between, what we pay now or what can stretch a little,” said his wife, Emily Santistevan. “ We'd be eating a lot of ramen noodles. At the end of the day, we'd go without to provide for our son.”