Governor Hochul Announces $234 Million in Additional Food Assistance for August
All SNAP Households to Receive the Maximum Level of Food Benefits for August Supplemental Food Benefits Expected to Continue Through November Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that all New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will receive the maximum allowable level of food benefits for August. All households participating in SNAP — including those already at the maximum level of benefits — will receive a supplemental allotment this month, resulting in a roughly $234 million infusion of federal funding into the New York State economy. “No New Yorker should face the prospect of not being able to provide adequate food to feed their household,” Governor Hochul said. “These added benefits help to alleviate this aching concern for hundreds of thousands of individuals and families still struggling to make ends meet amid the ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.” The emergency assistance supplement will be provided to all households, including those that ordinarily receive the maximum allowable benefit per month on SNAP, a federally funded program overseen by the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Households already near or at the maximum benefit level — $835 for a household of four — will receive a supplemental payment of at least $95. SNAP households in all counties outside of New York City should see these extra benefits post between today and Friday, August 19. Those SNAP households in the five-county New York City region should see their benefits post between Tuesday, August 16, and Monday, August 29. OTDA began issuing the emergency supplemental benefits in April 2020 to those SNAP households receiving less than the maximum monthly benefit amount. When New York State’s emergency declaration expired in June 2021, the agency successfully worked with the federal government to secure the maximum allotment for all SNAP households until the expiration of the federal declaration of a public health emergency, which was extended until October and will enable OTDA to continue issuing these benefits through November. New Yorkers continued to rely heavily on SNAP this spring, with more than 1.6 million households, including more than 2.8 million New Yorkers, throughout the state enrolled in the program in June. While SNAP recipients statewide dropped slightly from May, they were up 1.4 percent over June 2021, highlighting the continuing demand for these critical benefits. SNAP plays an important role in New York’s ongoing economic recovery and has injected more than $1.2 billion into the state’s economy since January. Every federal dollar invested by SNAP generates up to $1.54 in economic activity, according to a federal study quantifying the impact of SNAP on the U.S. economy. These benefits are also a critical lifeline for New Yorkers in need, as about 14 percent of the state’s population relied on SNAP benefits last year according to a recent study. More than half of recipient households were families with children and about 48 percent included an adult over the age of 55 or a person with a disability. As with the prior months, the payments will be delivered directly to recipients’ existing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) accounts and can be accessed with their existing EBT cards. Like regular SNAP benefits, the supplemental benefits can be used to purchase food at authorized retail food stores. Any unused SNAP benefits will automatically carry over to the following month. Find more information on the emergency supplemental SNAP benefits, including answers to frequently asked questions, here. New Yorkers interested in enrolling can check their SNAP eligibility, as well as apply online, by visiting mybenefits.ny.gov.
