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Together, we raise awareness about hunger, advocate for policies and programs that support food security, and support our neighbors in need of food. Stay informed and join our advocacy efforts by signing up for Action Alerts.
Legislators need to hear the message loud and clear: no one should go hungry.
Calculate SNAP monthly benefits based on the USDA’s Low-Cost Food Plan instead of the Thrifty Food Plan, increasing SNAP benefits by an average of $125 monthly per household.
Allow all SNAP participants to purchase hot food and prepared meals with their benefits.
Eliminate existing barriers to participation in SNAP for seniors, college students, able-bodied childless adults, immigrants, and individuals with prior convictions.
Eliminate asset limits and arbitrary eligibility limits for participation in SNAP.
Guarantee school breakfast, lunch, after school and summer meals for all children nationwide.
Provide adequate funding to ensure all eligible households can participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Increase federal investments in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in response to the unprecedented demand for hunger relief.
Fully fund food banks’ shelf-stable and cold storage infrastructure, transportation, and distribution capacity through TEFAP’s Administrative Grants account.
Increase the availability of culturally relevant foods, including halal and kosher, through TEFAP.
Visit Feeding NYSÂ for more information or click here to see our shared Farm Bill priorities.
New York’s Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) supports food banks, food pantries, emergency shelters, and other community-based organizations by providing funding for healthy food procurement, operational expenses, transportation, and distribution.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state lawmakers stepped up by creating Nourish New York (NNY), a nationally recognized program that connects hungry families with healthy food. NNY provides funding to food banks and food relief organizations to purchase directly from New York-based farmers and producers.
Since its inception, over $150 million has been allocated to the program – to the benefit of over 4,000 New York-based farmers, food hubs, and other businesses. Nourish New York equips emergency food providers with healthy food including fruits, vegetables, dairy, and proteins while enhancing the availability of halal, kosher, and culturally relevant food options.
Nearly 3 million New Yorkers participate in SNAP. The Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) helps ensure all eligible New Yorkers are aware of and able to participate in federal nutrition programs including but not limited to SNAP, WIC, CACFP, and school meals.
No child should ever go hungry. Providing universal school meals would feed our children, reduce bullying, and have a positive impact on children’s academic achievement and health. While the State provided $134.6 million in funding to supplement the expiration of federal aid, free and reduced lunches are still not accessible to all children across the state.
The current SNAP minimum benefit of $23 a month is inadequate for low-income New Yorkers. Amounting to less than a dollar a day, the SNAP minimum benefit fails to account for New York’s true cost of living.
The Working Families Tax Credit would lift New York children out of poverty by providing families with a tax credit of $1,500 per child, paid out on a quarterly basis. The proposal is modeled off the 2021 federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion, which cut child poverty rates by over 40%.
Unfortunately, when the expanded CTC expired in 2022, child poverty more than doubled according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The Working Families Tax Credit would reduce child poverty and help families afford their basic needs.
Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
Let us know the impact that hunger—or hunger relief—has had on your life, the lives of your friends and family, and your community. Tell us how you use your voice to inspire others to be a changemaker. These stories help us educate the community, advocate for policies and hunger relief programs, and inspire neighbors to help neighbors.
