ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a “food emergency” across the state Thursday as SNAP benefits for needy New Yorkers will stop this weekend due to the federal shutdown.
An additional $65 million will be freed up to go to food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency food providers across the state as the federal shutdown reached 30 days, Hochul announced at a food bank in Harlem.
“We’re not going to be passive observers to this,” she said, blaming Republicans in Washington for the stalemate that led to the looming freeze on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“They said there’s nothing we can do. I’m not buying that,” Hochul said.
Democrats in the US Senate have been stonewalling temporary spending measures, demanding that Republicans negotiate on restoring subsidies to help defray the cost of Obamacare health premiums.
“My message to Republicans in Washington: get back to work, restore the healthcare premiums, turn the federal government back on and start feeding hungry Americans once again,” Hochul said.