New York food banks and pantries would face major impacts from the congressional budget reconciliation bill.
The bill calls for cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP by $300 billion over the next decade.
It would mean 300,000 New York households could lose some or all of their benefits, with an estimated average loss of $220 per month.
Paule Pachter, the CEO of Long Island Cares: The Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank, said this comes as food pantries are already making changes to meet the growing need.
“It’s been a challenge to the pantries,” said Pachter. “We haven’t seen any make a decision to close. What we’ve seen is a reduction in the hours and a change in the model – by which they’re just providing emergency boxes of food for people in need.”
He noted that some food pantries cut their hours because they’re running out of food.
The deepest cuts would come from losing federal funds for basic food benefits. The bill calls for states to make up the difference, which might not always be possible – leading some to trim their programs or opt out of SNAP entirely.
It’s estimated New York State government would have to make up more than $2 billion in SNAP funding if the budget bill passes in its current form.
Also part of the bill, changes in work requirements for SNAP eligibility would push more people off the program. These include raising the age limit for work requirements from 54 to 64, limiting waivers for areas with high unemployment, and ending exemptions for certain people.
Vince Hall, chief government relations officer with the nonprofit Feeding America, said this doesn’t reflect who SNAP recipients are.
“The vast majority of people who are able to work are working,” said Hall. “The bad news is their wages – even with sometimes two full-time jobs – are so insufficient that, despite how hard they are working, they are still unable to afford the basics of rent, food and health care.”
Hall said he feels budget reconciliation is being used as an excuse to harm people under the guise of weeding out fraud. But cases of fraud within SNAP have grown – from 200,000 at the start of last year, to almost 700,000 this year.
However, this represents less than 2% of SNAP recipients nationwide.
Edwin is a reporter and producer in North Tonawanda, New York. He’s previously reported for the Niagara Gazette and the Ithaca Times. Edwin got an early start in radio interning for WBFO-88.7FM, NPR’s Buffalo affiliate. In 2018, he graduated from SUNY Buffalo State College with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 2022, graduated from Syracuse University with an M.S. in Communications.