Lawmakers must build on Executive Budget proposals to support food security amid unprecedented federal cuts.
Governor Hochul’s State of the State and Executive Budget include several meaningful investments in food security initiatives, including funding for EBT chip cards, expanded resources for emergency food providers, sustained funding for universal school meals, and efforts to increase access to summer nutrition programs.
We applaud these proposals and urge the Legislature to adopt them in one-house budget resolutions—but more is needed to respond to the unprecedented food security crisis at hand.
H.R.1, the federal budget reconciliation bill passed in July, included the largest cut to SNAP in history. The bill expands harsh and ineffective work reporting requirements to older adults and families with children aged 14 and older, restricts SNAP eligibility for refugees and asylees, reduces benefit adequacy over time, and creates more administrative hurdles for families and social service agencies. These cuts will jeopardize SNAP access for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers at the same time as families are struggling with rising costs for food, housing, healthcare, and other basic needs.
State lawmakers can help minimize harm from these cuts by supporting access to local SNAP navigators, community-based experts who help families understand SNAP rules and apply for the program if eligible. New York’s Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) is a network of more than 80 SNAP navigators who provide one-on-one, free, and confidential assistance to families across the state. Last year alone, this network provided SNAP information to more than 158,000 New Yorkers and helped nearly 30,000 families successfully apply.
SNAP navigators will be more critical than ever as families adjust to changes in federal policy, but H.R.1 cuts federal funding for the program in half. While the Executive Budget funds NOEP at $3.702M, without added state investment, NOEP will be forced to scale back SNAP assistance when New Yorkers need it the most.
To sustain statewide access to SNAP navigators, lawmakers must ensure the final budget includes $8.5M in funding for NOEP.
We also call on lawmakers to increase funding for WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. WIC is one of our nation’s most effective food security and public health programs, and an important economic support as families use their benefits to buy food at farmers’ markets, grocery stores, and other retailers.
Over the last five years, WIC participation in New York has increased by nearly 25%, but local WIC agencies have remained nearly flat-funded and are struggling to serve all eligible families seeking services. This fall, 93% of surveyed WIC agencies across the state reported that budget shortfalls are affecting their operations, with many reporting reduced access to services, staff reductions, and long wait times for appointments—all major concerns when providing nutrition to infants, young children, and perinatal patients during time-sensitive periods of development.
Meanwhile, an estimated 200,000 New Yorkers are eligible for WIC but not enrolled—a missed opportunity to fully leverage federally-funded food assistance—but because of capacity concerns at local WIC agencies, New York State ended a successful outreach project that was closing the gap.
The FY2027 budget must include $30M in supplemental funds to ensure local WIC agencies can serve all eligible families seeking services. The funding would also support modernizations that make the program more accessible and efficient, and outreach to the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are eligible but not yet connected.
Hunger Solutions New York and our partners stand ready to work with lawmakers to minimize harm from federal cuts and maximize proven food assistance programs. With modest state investments, we can ensure all of our neighbors have access to the food they need.
