N.Y.C. — Political leaders and the heads of food banks are scrambling to find ways to make up for the reduction in SNAP funding.
The federal program, also known as food stamps, was expanded for COVID, but low-income Americans see their account balances cut, and in some cases almost eliminated, at the end of February.
Wilbert Moore, who lives in the South Bronx, frequently visits a soup kitchen in the Chelsea area of Manhattan for his midday meal.
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As he explained, “I just come down to get something to eat.”
Since he lost his work as a certified hospital custodian, he has been unable to buy basic necessities like food.
He receives “anything from $100 and something to approximately $200” monthly in SNAP payments from the federal government.
However, that will soon be diminishing.
The federal government added an extra $95 to the payout in April of 2021 to aid with the pandemic.
However, a funding plan passed by Congress in December puts an end to the supplemental SNAP benefits after this month.
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It has never been so many people each week that the Church of the Holy Apostle has aided (700 families). Daily, on average, one thousand meals are distributed at the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen.
Holy Apostle Soup Kitchen and Pantry COO Michael Ottley remarked, “We continue to see more and more, week after week.”
An inflation of around 10% has led to a rise in food prices, coinciding with the end of the food stamp supplement.
How much food can you buy with $200 in SNAP benefits? “Ottley said.” “Prices for a dozen eggs averaged $8… Depending on the brand, a gallon of milk can cost $4 or $5.”
On Wednesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill that will raise the statewide minimum SNAP benefit from $50 to $95.
On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a supplemental payment of at least $95 to SNAP members in New York, but only for the month of February.
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“We’re going to figure it out. In the end, we’ll have it figured out “Ottley said.
Ignore his warnings about the difficulty of his task; ending world hunger is too important to be allowed to fail.
