Elected officials on Wednesday sounded the alarm on the impact of federal budget cuts on the city's AAPI community, highlighting how decreasing food benefits will affect the local economy.
Congressmeman Dan Goldman, Assemblymember Grace Lee and Council Member Susan Zhuang said the "One Big Beautiful Bill" will cut about 300,000 New Yorkers off of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), "a direct threat" to AAPI small businesses, vulnerable New Yorkers and already-strained food banks across the city.
"These cruel cuts will not only take food away from vulnerable families, they will also hurt many AAPI small businesses that rely on customers using SNAP and other food assistance benefits to buy groceries," Goldman said in a statement.
Nearly one in four Asian New Yorkers live in poverty, nearly twice the poverty rate of white New Yorkers, according to the nonprofit Robin Hood.
In addition, about 51,000 Brooklynites have dealt with SNAP fraud, exacerbating the situation.
“We see SNAP fraud in our community every single day," said Zhuang. "The federal government must take responsibility to address this, invest in stopping scammers, restore funding, and protect families."
Zhuang said seniors on fixed incomes struggle to put food on the table, especially with the tariffs.
In AAPI neighborhoods across the city, including in Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, SNAP is a vital part of the local economy, sustaining food banks, small businesses that largely depend on customers using food assistance benefits to purchase groceries and jobs, the officials said. It is estimated that every dollar in SNAP generates more than $1.50 in economic activity.
"All businesses are impacted, and our underrepresented AAPI community is being left behind," Zhuang said.
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