
OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:10 AM – Thursday, October 30, 2025
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) has declared a state of emergency to financially support food banks as the government shutdown threatens the food stamp program.
The governor declared a state of emergency on Thursday, while issuing $65 million to assist food banks.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were scheduled to reach approximately 42 million Americans on Saturday, November 1st, but the government shutdown has caused the program’s funds to “run dry.”
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that the state of New York receives nearly $650 million from the federal government for SNAP benefits every month. This is one of the many institutions that has been negatively impacted by the lapse in federal funding, which has entered its 30th day.
New York is not the only state that has put certain measures into place to avert hunger crises.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (D-Ore.) directed $5 million to food banks and declared a 60-day food security emergency.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) has also said that the state will pull from surplus funds to cover up to one month of SNAP benefits.
SNAP benefits for the United States cost about $8 billion per month. Senate Democrats have voted against the funding bill that would end the shutdown 13 times.
Despite Republicans pushing for a “clean” bill that would keep the government funded until late November, Hochul (D-N.Y.) blames the Trump administration.
“The Trump Administration would rather starve children and families than lift a finger to help them put food on the table,” she posted to X on Thursday. “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.”
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