A handful of New York restaurants are stepping in to help those whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding will lapse due to the government shutdown.
Restaurants such as Welcome Home and Prima are stepping in to help those New Yorkers impacted by the government’s actions.
The loss of benefits is happening for the first time since the United States Department of Agriculture introduced the benefits, originally as food stamps, to assist people with low incomes in buying groceries and food. New York City typically uses $420 million a month in SNAP funding to help 1.8 million New Yorkers, per a city press release.
Local and state government agencies are stepping in with plans to assist the affected individuals. But even if the government shutdown ends soon, or SNAP is refunded, it’s more than likely that the November benefits will still be delayed, per nonprofit news publication the City.
That’s where two Brooklyn restaurants come in. Bed-Stuy bakery Welcome Home is starting a food drive on Friday, October 31. It’ll have a bin set up outside the space for donations of canned foods that don’t expire, and formula and diapers for babies, which it’ll drop off at the food pantry in John Wesley United Methodist Church weekly.
Co-owner Isa Steyer tells Eater that as soon as the team heard the news, they wanted to host a drive. She and the team decided to drop off their goods at the food pantry at John Wesley United Methodist Church weekly, because they had the capacity and also took in baby products, “which is great for our family-filled neighborhood,” she writes over Instagram direct message.
“The response has honestly been pretty crazy,” Steyer continues. “A few other businesses and organizations have reached out to see if they can use our drop as a location for their own customer base.”
“Neighbors and community are the final safety net,” Steyer writes, “and when other measures fail, we have to rely on each other! We’ve seen the way this neighborhood shows up for each other, and this is the kind of business we set out to run, so it was kinda a no-brainer.”
The Welcome Home team is also planning to bake more, so they can donate the loaves to mutual aid group Feed the People Bedstuy.
Over in Clinton Hill, coffee shop and wine bar Prima Brooklyn will start accepting shelf-stable food donations on Saturday, November 1, which it will drop off at One Love Community Fridge every week.
Owner Daryl Nuhn tells Eater over Instagram direct message that over 100 people shared the cafe’s story online. “I’m hoping there is a large outpouring from our community,” she writes. “It’s really beautiful to see the neighborhood coming together.” The cafe will run fundraising events for the community fridge throughout November, too, to be announced later.
In Greenpoint, culinary bookstore Archestratus Books and Foods is accepting donations of shelf-stable foods during its operating hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. It’ll arrange for pickups by food pantries.
The restaurants’ actions come as local and state governments rush to fill the gaps caused by the federal government’s actions. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city is adding $15 million in emergency funding to the Community Food Connection Program to help extend existing food pantries and community kitchens in the city.
Molly Wasow Park, the Department of Social Services commissioner, calls out the federal government in the press release, explaining that New Yorkers won’t get their SNAP benefits in November “because the federal government would rather use the threat of widespread hunger to advance their callous political program than actually support hungry Americans.”
“The federal government is deliberately creating a crisis of fear and hunger, continuing their cruel denial of vital resources that keep people nourished, and local businesses and farms alive,” Kate MacKenzie, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, says in the press release.
That NYC money will supplement the $65 million in emergency funding from New York State, since Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Thursday, October 30. Likewise, the state and 24 other states have sued the Trump administration over the sudden halting of SNAP benefits.
New Yorkers are also encouraged to donate funds to local food banks, such as City Harvest and Food Bank for New York City; community fridges like One Love Community Fridge; and food pantries.
There are both official citywide and statewide resources detailing what will happen for SNAP holders, those who need to apply for the program, and where to find food banks, pantries, and other services.