State Budget Must Protect Food Access for All
In the halls of the New York State Capitol, legislators and advocates are demanding that a number of programs and policies such as universal childcare, revenue raising measures and protections from immigrant communities are included in this year’s state budget. But there is also growing momentum around an issue that affects us all every day – food security.
As a result of the trump administration’s HR1 bill, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be cut by $186 billion through 2034, which will affect nearly 3 million New Yorkers. The cuts reduce benefit amounts, expand harsh work reporting requirements, and eliminate eligibility for many lawfully present immigrants. For families already struggling with the cost of groceries, rent, and childcare, the consequences are simply devastating.
In Albany, we are rallying support for our SNAP4ALL bill, a targeted state food benefit for New Yorkers excluded from SNAP solely because of citizenship status. We are asking for a $244 million investment in the state budget, which would ensure food benefits for 41,000 New Yorkers who were newly excluded from SNAP by H.R. 1, such as refugees and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking; and 65,000 households with children who are currently excluded from receiving food benefits as identified by the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council.
Providing food assistance is a solution that we know works. It improves health outcomes, reduces food insecurity, stimulates local businesses, and strengthens communities. The support for these kinds of measures is growing across the country. From California to Washington to Illinois to Maine, advocacy groups are fighting to ensure that citizenship status does not determine who can access food benefits. In New York, we count with the support of the SNAP4ALL New York, an advocacy campaign that has garnered support from over 110 organizations across the state and dozens of legislators leading up to this moment.
Across the state this winter, nearly 600 New Yorkers shared why food access matters to them. A child said it would be harder for them and their siblings to eat if they didn’t have access to food benefits. A teacher said they wanted their students to come to school without having to worry about their next meal. Families emphasized a simple truth: in a state as wealthy as New York, no one should be denied food because of who they are or where they were born.
New York cannot control federal policy. However, it can decide whether to let these cuts take food away from our neighbors or act to protect them. Before these cuts, 1 in 7 New Yorkers received SNAP benefits to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, and other groceries. That’s a vital lifeline, particularly for the children, elderly, and disabled who make up over half of New York’s SNAP participants. Amidst a growing food insecurity and affordability crisis, we are all affected when our neighbors and communities can’t eat and can’t get the support they deserve.
This is the moment for New York to affirm that food is a human right. Including SNAP4ALL in this year’s state budget would be a practical, targeted step towards a stronger New York for all.
By: New York Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas
New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera
