ELMSFORD – US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY) met with food bank officials in Westchester County on Monday regarding the change in federal SNAP food stamp funding that will place financial burdens on New York.
“President Trump has consistently threatened and cut the essential services that serve as the backbone of our nation,” Gillibrand said. “At a time when people can barely afford a cart of groceries or a tank of gas, this president is making states and localities bear excruciating cost burdens for SNAP programming while he is funding tax cuts for the richest people in the country and pouring billions into a ware overseas.”
“The recent decrease in SNAP enrollment does not mean hunger is disappearing in Westchester County, across New York State, or anywhere in our country; it means fewer people are getting the food they need,” said Kristine Borok, president and CEO of Feeding Westchester. “Right now, 41 percent of Westchester households are at risk of hunger, and that number is growing. The inability of families working full-time jobs to put food on the table is not a fleeting occurrence; it has become a change in our society.”
Borok said food banks would need to double or triple their distribution to replace the SNAP cuts. “Our network was never meant to replace the federal safety net. Food banks were built as an emergency response system, not a permanent substitute for federal nutrition programs, and we cannot absorb cuts of this magnitude on top of the rising cost of living.”
The change, which is slated to take effect on October 1 and is part of a broader slate of harmful cuts to the SNAP program, will reduce the federal share of SNAP administrative expenses from 50 percent to 25 percent, with states and localities now responsible for covering 75 percent of costs.
Counties in New York State are expected to be on the hook for $168 million annually as a result of the funding shift.
