New York City and New Jersey SNAP recipients will face a looming pause in benefits starting November 1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), has announced it will stop making payments on that day.
For many residents, especially those relying on food banks and local organizations for assistance, the impact will be severe. Zac Hall, senior vice president of the Food Bank for New York City, stated, "No single organization nor the food assistance network can absorb that." The SNAP program covers over 95 million meals a month, significantly more than the Food Bank distributes in an entire year.
The pause in benefits will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including families with children and individuals struggling to make ends meet. Christine Quinn, CEO of WIN, said, "Babies won't have formula. Small children won't have breakfast or lunch." To mitigate this, WIN is raising funds to give its clients gift cards they can use at the grocery store.
New York City has a network of food pantries and soup kitchens that will be stretched to their limits as demand increases in anticipation of the pause. Food providers are purchasing more food and soliciting donations to help meet the anticipated surge in visits.
In New Jersey, the Community Food Bank is also preparing for increased demand. Elizabeth McCarthy, president and CEO, stated that people have started to hear about the pause and are anxious, coming to the organization with concerns about their benefits. To address this, the bank is planning mass distribution "COVID-style car line" events by county.
For residents in need, there are resources available to help. New York City has a robust network of food pantries and soup kitchens, while the Plentiful app provides users with maps of nearby food assistance locations. In New Jersey, SNAP recipients can contact their local municipality or county for aid.
Some organizations offer mobile delivery services, including Citymeals on Wheels and South Asian Council of Social Services. DoorDash has also announced it will waive delivery and service fees for grocery purchases by SNAP users.
As the pause in benefits looms, lawmakers are taking action to help affected residents. Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency and directed over $100 million for emergency food. New York City is providing an additional $15 million to local food pantries.
However, it remains uncertain whether the benefits will resume on time. A group of attorneys general, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, have asked the courts to intervene to force the USDA to use contingency funding to keep SNAP funded.
For many residents, especially those relying on food banks and local organizations for assistance, the impact will be severe. Zac Hall, senior vice president of the Food Bank for New York City, stated, "No single organization nor the food assistance network can absorb that." The SNAP program covers over 95 million meals a month, significantly more than the Food Bank distributes in an entire year.
The pause in benefits will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including families with children and individuals struggling to make ends meet. Christine Quinn, CEO of WIN, said, "Babies won't have formula. Small children won't have breakfast or lunch." To mitigate this, WIN is raising funds to give its clients gift cards they can use at the grocery store.
New York City has a network of food pantries and soup kitchens that will be stretched to their limits as demand increases in anticipation of the pause. Food providers are purchasing more food and soliciting donations to help meet the anticipated surge in visits.
In New Jersey, the Community Food Bank is also preparing for increased demand. Elizabeth McCarthy, president and CEO, stated that people have started to hear about the pause and are anxious, coming to the organization with concerns about their benefits. To address this, the bank is planning mass distribution "COVID-style car line" events by county.
For residents in need, there are resources available to help. New York City has a robust network of food pantries and soup kitchens, while the Plentiful app provides users with maps of nearby food assistance locations. In New Jersey, SNAP recipients can contact their local municipality or county for aid.
Some organizations offer mobile delivery services, including Citymeals on Wheels and South Asian Council of Social Services. DoorDash has also announced it will waive delivery and service fees for grocery purchases by SNAP users.
As the pause in benefits looms, lawmakers are taking action to help affected residents. Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency and directed over $100 million for emergency food. New York City is providing an additional $15 million to local food pantries.
However, it remains uncertain whether the benefits will resume on time. A group of attorneys general, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, have asked the courts to intervene to force the USDA to use contingency funding to keep SNAP funded.
november 1st and ppl are gonna be like what's for lunch lol but seriously its not funny when u gotta choose between food and rent 
food banks and soup kitchens r already stretched thin so now they gotta deal with the extra demand in anticipation of the pause 
win is trying to help by giving clients gift cards but like who can afford that 
anyone else think we should just get some more funding for this program instead of pausing it altogether 
think about all the families with kids who are gonna go without breakfast and lunch because of a gov't pause in benefits its just not right we need to do more to support our neighbors in need 
This pause in SNAP benefits is gonna hit so hard, especially for families with kids. I mean, can you even imagine not having enough food for your little ones? 
It's crazy that the US Department of Agriculture is just gonna stop payments outta nowhere. Like, what about all those people who are already struggling to make ends meet? The fact that the Food Bank for NYC and other organizations are having to deal with an influx of desperate clients is just heartbreaking.
. But let's be real, this pause is a huge problem and we need the USDA to figure out a solution ASAP. The fact that lawmakers are taking action and providing some emergency funding is a good start, but what about the contingency funding? We need to make sure our vulnerable populations aren't left hanging out there.
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. And it's not just food banks that are gonna get hit, people are gonna have to start making really tough choices between paying bills and buying groceries 
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. I mean, some of these organizations are already doing amazing work to help out, like the ones in NYC and NJ that have food pantries and soup kitchens 
. Maybe we need to rethink the whole system and make sure everyone has access to food no matter what 
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I'm literally freaking out thinking about all these families who are going to be left with nothing to eat 
. I'm not sure what's more concerning - the pause in benefits or the fact that lawmakers are finally acknowledging the problem, but then what? 