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NYS: SNAP recipients to receive additional $100 million in food assistance

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Mon, Jun 15th 2020 12:15 pm

Roughly 750,000 households will receive supplemental payments for June

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) announced more than $100 million in additional emergency food assistance for New Yorkers adversely affected by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. About 750,000 low-income individuals and families enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive the maximum allowable benefit for June to help them avoid food insecurity.

“No New Yorker should be left wondering whether or not they can afford to eat – especially not during an unprecedented public health crisis,” Commissioner Mike Hein said. “This funding will help these families, and many others thrust into food insecurity, to put meals on the table as our communities begin to mend from this global pandemic.”

OTDA will be issuing the emergency assistance to any SNAP household that does not ordinarily receive the maximum allowable benefit per month, which is $194 for an individual and $646 for a family of four. The emergency assistance will be distributed later this month, after the regular benefits are issued. About half of all households receiving SNAP will receive additional benefits for June.

This will mark the fourth consecutive month all SNAP recipients in New York have received the maximum benefit. In April, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo directed OTDA to submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide emergency supplemental payments to any SNAP household getting less than the maximum monthly benefit, which is $646 for a family of four. Since that time, approximately $300 million in additional benefits have been distributed throughout the state.

As with the three prior months, the supplemental payments will be issued over a period of several days once SNAP benefits for June have been issued. The payments will be delivered directly to recipients’ existing electronic benefit transfer (EBT) account and can be accessed with their existing EBT card. Like regular SNAP benefits, the supplemental benefits can be used to purchase food at authorized retail food stores. Any unused SNAP benefits will be automatically carried over to the following month.

The state has also begun distributing more than $880 million to help New Yorkers with children who previously received free and reduced-price meals at school. The pandemic electronic benefit transfer (P-EBT) program has been issuing the first round of benefits to those New Yorkers enrolled in SNAP or temporary assistance who have existing EBT accounts.

Those families whose children receive free school lunches because they are enrolled in Medicaid can expect to receive notification this month, with their benefits appearing on their Medicaid common benefit identification card in late June or early July. Those families with eligible children who are not enrolled in these programs should receive notification by mail later this month. EBT cards with this assistance will then be mailed out between July and August.

For more information, visit “Frequently Asked Questions for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Food Benefits.”

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