Statement attributable to Andrés Vives, Chief Executive Officer of Hunger Solutions New York
Hunger Solutions New York applauds Governor Hochul’s focus on food security and affordability in her 2026 State of the State proposals. Amid unprecedented federal cuts to SNAP, New York must lead the way with meaningful investments in anti-hunger programs.
Transitioning to EBT chip cards is a critical step to protect New Yorkers’ food benefits from electronic theft. More than 150,000 New York families have reported benefit theft through skimming, making New York the hardest hit state in the nation. Transitioning to chip-enabled EBT cards will mitigate theft at the source, protecting SNAP benefits so families can use them as intended—to put food on the table.
Expanding summer nutrition programs will further support food security for children during the summer break from school, when many children lose access to school meals. Hunger Solutions New York proudly partners with state agencies, schools, and community-based organizations to maximize the reach of summer nutrition programs across the state. Still, fewer than one in four of our state’s low-income children have access to summer meals, in part due to longstanding federal policies that limit eligibility for summer meal sites and only recently allowed more flexible meal service models in rural communities. We look forward to working with Governor Hochul and other partners to identify and overcome barriers to summer meal access. We also applaud the Governor’s proposal to raise awareness of Summer EBT through a cross-agency outreach campaign, and to increase SNAP outreach through schools as part of the universal school meals policy.
Additional investments in emergency food programs, including the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, will help food banks and pantries respond to rising demand amid the rollout of H.R.1’s SNAP cuts. While emergency food programs cannot fill the gap from SNAP cuts—for every one meal a food pantry provides, SNAP provides nine—these investments will help our partners meet the needs of families at risk of losing some or all of their SNAP benefits.
We urge the Legislature to build on these proposals with investments to ensure all eligible New Yorkers can access SNAP and WIC, two of our nation’s largest and most effective anti-hunger programs.
The FY2027 budget must fund the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program—our state’s network of SNAP navigators—at $8.5M, backfilling cuts in H.R.1 and ensuring families can receive SNAP assistance amid federal policy changes that make the program harder to access. Without added state investment, NOEP will be forced to scale back when families need it most.
The final budget must also fill severe funding gaps at local WIC agencies that are jeopardizing access to services for eligible young children and pregnant and postpartum New Yorkers. WIC participation has increased dramatically over the last four years, in part due to Hunger Solutions New York’s successful statewide WIC outreach project, but WIC agencies have remained flat-funded. In a recent survey from the WIC Association of New York State, 93% of surveyed WIC agencies reported that budget shortfalls have had notable impacts on their operations, including staff reductions, longer wait times for appointments, reduced access to services, and fewer outreach efforts. Meanwhile, an estimated 200,000 New Yorkers are eligible for WIC but still not participating. $30M in supplemental funding will support local WIC agencies as they serve more families, while also funding outreach and modernizations that make the program more accessible and efficient.
Hunger Solutions New York continues to lead a collaborative advocacy effort to advance these and other critical anti-hunger priorities. We look forward to working with Governor Hochul and the Legislature to ensure food security for all New Yorkers.
