Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday urged the federal government to take immediate action to ensure recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) get their November benefits.
In a letter penned to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Hochul said about 3 million New Yorkers will lose their benefits as the federal government shutdown continues.
“I am calling on the Trump administration to guarantee these essential funds so that New Yorkers can continue to put food on the table, and I urge Washington Republicans — including the seven from New York — to actually stand up for their constituents, come to the negotiating table and end this uncertainty and chaos,” Hochul said.
Beyond causing hunger for millions of people, holding SNAP benefits hostage will harm an already fragile economy, especially for many of our small businesses and rural producers who will experience reduced revenue, the governor wrote in her letter.
"Madam Secretary, as a long-standing leader on agriculture and food access, you know full well that SNAP is not merely a benefit to be paid to those in need," the governor wrote. "It is a lynchpin in our economy, it is the moral backbone of our country and New Yorkers deserve your quick and decisive action to ensure benefits are not arbitrarily and unnecessarily upheld."
There are over 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits. Some states are now giving out notices to recipients to seek out food banks, according to NBC News.
The state is also anticipating over 300,000 New York households to lose their SNAP benefits after the passage of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" that was signed into law in July. Asylum seekers lost their SNAP eligibility and now there are now work requirements for able-bodied adults, among other changes. Click here for a FAQ about all of the changes compiled by the New York City Hunger Policy Center at Hunter College, CUNY.
