Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Thursday and announced $65 million in new funds for emergency food assistance, with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits expected to end on Saturday.
The loss of SNAP benefits is both a casualty of the government shutdown, which both parties blame on the other, but also a decision by the Trump administration to not release federal contingency funding to its Department of Agriculture to keep benefits flowing.
The majority of the money, $40 million, will go to additional funding for the state-run Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, which works with food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. The other $25 million goes to Nourish NY, which sends surplus agricultural products to those same groups.
On Tuesday, New York, along with 24 other states, sued the Trump administration to release SNAP funds. Governor Hochul also fast-tracked an additional $41 million for emergency food assistance at that time.
New York State's total allocated funds for emergency food assistance during the shutdown is now $106 million, about the size of the entire East Hampton Town budget.
"The Trump administration made a conscious choice to stop SNAP benefits, not because the money isn't there, but because they chose not to use it," said a choked-up Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez at a special East Hampton Town Board meeting on Thursday.
"That decision puts seniors, veterans, children, and working families in communities like ours at risk of going hungry. Here in East Hampton, we reject that kind of neglect. We believe in standing up for our neighbors, not turning our backs on them," she said.
Minutes later, the town board unanimously supported a resolution authorizing an emergency appropriation of $30,000 to local food pantries.
The East Hampton, Montauk, and Springs Food Pantries will each receive $10,000 from the town.
"In light of the immediate and extraordinary circumstances created by the federal suspension of SNAP benefits, the town board finds it necessary to provide financial support to ensure that local food pantries can continue to meet increased demand for food assistance," Ms. Burke-Gonzalez read from the resolution.
The town money will come from a fund line, "Federal Aid - Nutrition" that is mostly covered (90 percent) by the federal government. The town's 2025 budget had $90,000 in expected revenues for that fund line, according to Rebecca Hansen, the town administrator, but the town has already received $132,000.
According to a press release issued by the governor's office, three million New Yorkers receive SNAP assistance, and the state receives $650 million per month in the federal aid.
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Note: This story has been updated since it first appeared online.
