New York declares a ‘state of emergency’ as state and local officials scramble to assist residents set to lose benefits.
Millions of people in the United States who rely on nutrition assistance programmes are facing uncertainty, as food aid is set to lapse on Saturday amid the ongoing government shutdown.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency on Thursday, joining other state and municipal officials who tapped local funds to help fill the void.
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“I’m declaring a State of Emergency to use every tool we have to help the three million New Yorkers losing food assistance because of the GOP shutdown,” Hochul said in a social media post.
Rhode Island, Virginia and New Mexico have also announced emergency declarations in recent days to address the crisis.
While federal services often face complications or interruptions during government shutdowns, the Trump administration’s decision to completely suspend food benefits starting on November 1 is unusual.
Never before has the federal government frozen funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), sometimes referred to as food stamps.
Democrats have accused the White House of politicising food aid to pressure politicians to fall in line with Trump’s priorities.
Twenty-five Democrat-led states have sued to ensure SNAP continues to receive funding, and on Thursday, a hearing was held in a federal court in Massachusetts.
“With the suspension of SNAP benefits, the nutritional needs of millions of school-aged children in Plaintiff States will not be met,” the plaintiffs wrote in a filing.
They also argued that grocers and other merchants who work with food assistance programmes would be adversely affected.
US District Judge Indira Talwani indicated that she planned to issue a decision later that day.
Talwani also said that the government should find an “equitable way of reducing benefits” as an alternative instead of ending them entirely.
About 42 million people — or one out of every eight people in the US — rely on federal nutrition assistance, which constitutes a key part of US anti-poverty efforts.
SNAP costs nearly $8bn a month for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to operate, and previously, the department had drawn from its contingency funds to keep food assistance flowing.
But this time, the Trump administration has argued that it is not able to access those funds as part of the government shutdown, which has pitted Democrats against Republicans.
The two sides reached an impasse over whether to negotiate for greater healthcare access and failed to pass a budget bill by the September 30 deadline.
The USDA then announced it was severing SNAP funds on October 26, blaming Democrats for failing to fund the government.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA wrote in a statement on its website. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
That announcement left state and municipal officials scrambling to find ways to assist residents who could otherwise struggle to access food. Nonprofit food pantries and other services are also bracing for an uptick in demand.
Civil society groups have expressed particular alarm at the possible impact that benefit cuts could have on vulnerable groups, such as children and the poor.
“As this government shutdown continues, the US bishops are deeply alarmed that essential programs that support the common good, such as SNAP, may be interrupted,” the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement.
“This would be catastrophic for families and individuals who rely on SNAP to put food on the table and places the burdens of this shutdown most heavily on the poor and vulnerable of our nation, who are the least able to move forward.”
