With the federal government shutdown now in its fourth week, millions of Americans are poised to lose access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on Nov. 1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a notice on its website that “the well has run dry,” adding that “at this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1.”
Calling the situation “unprecedented and cruel,” Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Thursday as New York braced for the sudden loss of federal food aid that supports nearly three million residents. Her order releases $65 million in state funds for programs including Nourish NY and the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, and deploys SUNY and AmeriCorps volunteers to strengthen food banks and pantries statewide.
The threat to SNAP stems directly from the federal shutdown. With appropriations stalled since Oct. 1, the USDA said it lacks the $8 billion needed to fund November benefits and said it cannot draw on contingency reserves.
Created under the Food Stamp Act of 1964 and renamed SNAP in 2008, the program is the nation’s largest anti-hunger initiative. It provides low-income households with electronic benefits redeemable at most supermarkets and farmers markets.
About 42 million Americans — roughly one in eight — receive SNAP each month. More than 80 percent of benefits go to households with children, seniors, or people with disabilities. The average allotment is about $350 per household nationwide; in New York, roughly $200 per person.
In Columbia County, about 9% of households rely on SNAP; in Dutchess County, nearly 8%, or roughly 11,000 households.
At Willow Roots in Pine Plains, Nelson and Lisa Zayas were stocking shelves — cereal boxes, canned vegetables, and bags of onions filling every inch of their narrow storefront. The pantry operates on a “full-choice” model, allowing families to pick what they need instead of receiving pre-packed boxes.
“We’ve already told our volunteers to expect to distribute more than usual,” Lisa said. “I think people will probably need more.”
In the basement of the Pine Plains Methodist Church, Pat Nannetti checked shelves at the Food Locker, which has quietly fed families since 1951.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to expect,” she said. “We’re prepared if we see more people, but we can’t say for sure.”
No one is turned away. “The food is there,” she added.
The locker’s next distribution, on Nov. 8, will include turkeys and trimmings for Thanksgiving.
At the Northeast Community Center (NECC) in Millerton, Jennifer Kronholm Clark, director of engagement, said the NECC food pantry typically serves 200 families each week and is preparing for an increase.
Clark said the governor’s emergency funding could help stabilize the regional food banks NECC relies on for a large share of its supply. “Even before any funding cuts or shutoffs, hunger is an ever-present issue in our communities,” she said. “We have a lot of partnerships with local farms and work with the food bank and other food pantries to really strengthen the safety net as much as we can. Any sort of weakening of that is going to have an impact.”
In Ancramdale, Jack Lindsay, co-director of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, which provides residents across Ancram township with food, said his organization has several months of funding in reserve but is already seeing strain.
“Each week we go to the regional food bank, we’re seeing about a third less available USDA product,” he said. “More people coming more often for more food — that’s where the crisis comes into play.”
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, which supplies pantries like Lindsay’s, is facing similar concerns. Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Susan Litner said her team was “worried about what Saturday’s going to bring.”
“We as a charitable food system, we’re not designed to fill the gap that SNAP fills for food-insecure New Yorkers,” she said. “The combined amount of SNAP benefit dollars for Dutchess and Columbia Counties is about $4.5 million a month. For our entire service area, it’s $58 million a month — the equivalent of 36 million meals lost in November alone if benefits stop. Quite simply, we don’t have the capacity to fill that gap.”
Even with the governor’s emergency funds, Litner added, “our pantries were built to help in emergencies, not replace a federal nutrition system.”
Elected officials across the Hudson Valley called the looming SNAP disruption both avoidable and immoral.
Rep. Josh Riley, a Democrat from New York’s 19th District, said SNAP “keeps food on the table for working people across Upstate New York — seniors who deserve to retire with dignity, children who deserve a fair chance, and veterans who’ve put their lives on the line.”
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino, a Republican, said the situation “shouldn’t be political.”
“Hunger cannot be a partisan issue,” she said. “The freeze affects 11,000 households in Dutchess County — about $3 million a month in benefits our county cannot replace.”
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat representing the 41st District, called the shutdown’s effect on SNAP “a cruel abdication of the federal government’s duty.”
At Tri-Corner Feed in Millerton, co-founder Linda Quella runs a sliding-scale grocery offering residents locally sourced foods at reduced cost — one of the few options in the area for affordable, farm-sourced goods. “We just became SNAP-eligible,” Quella said. “We haven’t started accepting it yet, but our whole business model is built on affordability. The foundation of what we do is making sure people can access healthy, local food, regardless of income.”
Quella said her team is in touch with nearby food programs in Amenia, Millerton, and Lakeville to coordinate how best to respond as need increases. “The pantries are already struggling, and this is only going to make it harder,” she said.
As winter nears and harvests slow, she added, “It’s infuriating and sad that we’re left to respond so quickly to these crises. How can the government just pull the rug out from under people and expect them to feed their families? We’ll do what we can, but no community can replace SNAP.”
Across the region, pantries say they are as ready as they can be — though with uncertainty over if or when SNAP benefits will resume, no one knows what November will bring.
“There’s absolutely no reason anyone should be going hungry with the amount of food that’s out there,” Nelson Zayas said.
Thank you to all these amazing volunteers who step up when they are needed the most. These are really sad times.