Nonprofits, weakened by funding cuts, brace for disaster

Things were already getting worse, even before the prospect of funds running out on Saturday (Nov. 1) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.

At the Philipstown Food Pantry, coordinator Kiko Lattu said the number of visitors during its Saturday morning hours has increased by 30 percent, including people who hadn't visited in years. "They were getting by for a while, but things have become more difficult," she said.

In Beacon, Fareground said it has started getting more food requests at the same time it is revamping its community fridge program. Dutchess Outreach in Poughkeepsie, which had been serving around 250 people a month, saw over 2,000 in February. Second Chance Foods, based in Brewster, said more people are requesting their Wednesday distributions. "There's been an increased need, and we're already at capacity for that program," said Martha Elder, the executive director.

Unless a resolution is reached soon, the cuts to SNAP - colloquially known as "food stamps" - threaten to transform a slow-moving emergency into a full-scale disaster as nonprofits and communities struggle to fill the gap.

And the gap is sizable: In Putnam County, 2,885 people rely on food stamps. In Dutchess, it's 17,152, and across the river, in Orange County, it's 45,530. "Those are not numbers we will be able to support," said Jamie Levato, the executive director of Fareground.

Renee Fillette-Miccio, the executive director of Dutchess Outreach, said about $3.4 million flows into the county each month for food benefits. "For every one meal provided by a food pantry, SNAP provides 12," she said. "There's just no way for the charitable food system to be able to keep up."

Trickle-down

After weeks of speculation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week that federal food aid could cease on Nov. 1. The Trump administration said it could not legally tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds.

Fillette-Miccio of Dutchess Outreach spent Tuesday in Washington, D.C., speaking with lawmakers from both parties, each of whom told her that President Trump could easily restore funding. "They all had the same thing to say, which was that it's just a matter of a phone call," she said.

SNAP helps about 1 of every 8 Americans buy groceries, and nearly 80 percent of recipients are older adults, disabled or children, "which means that they don't really have the capacity to work to bring in money for food," said Dr. Hilary Seligman, a professor at the University of California who studies food insecurity and its health implications.



On Friday (Oct. 31), a federal judge ruled, in response to a lawsuit by 25 state attorneys generals, including from New York, that the suspension of SNAP was illegal and ordered the government to report on Monday its plan to distribute funding. Benefits were already facing delays because it takes a week or more to load SNAP cards in many states.

Some governors and mayors have stepped in, using what money they have available to fill the program that feeds about 42 million Americans. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, announcing $65 million in emergency food assistance and a website at bit.ly/SNAPaid that lists food banks and other social services.

Dutchess County announced it would commit $150,000 per week to support local food pantries, for up to 10 weeks, pending approval by the Legislature at its Tuesday (Nov. 6) meeting. The county said the amount was determined after consulting with Fillette-Miccio, who chairs the Dutchess County Food Security Council.

In Putnam County, legislators on Friday unanimously approved a request to County Executive Kevin Byrne to allocate $150,000 to fund food pantries through the end of the year.



The potential federal pause comes at a time when many nonprofits have found their federal funding slashed or eliminated with little notice or explan...