(The Center Square) – New York is getting another infusion of federal funds.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that the state would receive $234 million in additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding this month.
- By Steve Bittenbender | The Center Square contributor
- June 10th, 2022
- The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The move means the 2.8 million people relying on SNAP funds to help buy food will receive the maximum allocation this month. Those who already receive the maximum will get additional funding. For a family of four that gets the $835 maximum, it means they will get at least $95 more.
Hochul, in a statement, said New York families wouldn’t be the only ones benefitting from the funding boost.
“Far too many households continue to grapple with food insecurity, and in many instances, these struggles are a direct result of the economic toll inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said. “As we continue to build back our state’s economy better than it was before, these maximum food benefits will help put food on New Yorkers’ tables while also providing local retailers and related businesses with a welcome infusion of capital.”
Since January, New York has received more than $1 billion in SNAP funding.
The state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance first started issuing supplemental SNAP benefits to eligible New Yorkers in April 2020, a month after the COVID-19 state of emergency began. That emergency ended a year ago, but OTDA reached an agreement with the federal government to continue getting the maximum allocation until the federal state of emergency ends.
According to Hochul’s release, the federal declaration is expected to be extended until October.
“These additional benefits are providing individuals and families across the state with the resources they need to put healthy, nutritious food on the table each month as we collectively recover from the public health crisis,” OTDA Commissioner Daniel W. Tietz said in a statement.
Most SNAP recipients live in New York City; 1.7 million registered in the program were in one of the five boroughs in April.
Hochul’s office said enrollees outside New York City have been rising since August 2021. Last month, New York City reported its first drop in SNAP enrollment in four months.
All additional funds will go to SNAP enrollees’ electronic benefit cards and can be used to purchase eligible food products at grocers and other authorized retailers.
Unused SNAP benefits carry over to the next month.
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Lance A. Polivy, Vice President for Legal Affairs
I do not usually write ahead of the week’s rhythm. Fridays suit an old woman. They allow time for tea, rereading, and the small mercy of correcting one’s own excessive cleverness. But this cannot wait for Friday.
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