Serving roughly 42 million Americans\u2014about one in eight\u2014the $8 billion-per-month program faced disruption, prompting urgent responses from food banks and state agencies, the report said. While the exact benefit amounts and timing remain uncertain, the process of reloading SNAP debit cards could take up to two weeks in some states, leaving many recipients in limbo, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
![\"Patricia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/7HSROJTTLVA6VKTL2X7Y2MW3JM.JPG\"\/)
Westerleigh resident Patricia Brooks is worried about how she will pay for her groceries amid the government shutdown and delays in SNAP benefits.Scott R. Axelrod | SILive.com\/Advance<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a tough situation, you know. And I think it\u2019s totally unfair… the government shutdown is affecting people, human beings … when you run out of butter, milk and eggs, that\u2019s hard to get in a pantry,\u201d said Brooks.<\/p>\n
The uncertainty and SNAP delays leave people like Brooks wondering where their next meal may come from. Or worse, fearing they will go hungry.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, I get it [her SNAP benefits] in the second half of the month, because that\u2019s when I start running out of butter and eggs and some staples,\u201d she said. \u201cUsually, the last week and a half, two weeks, is when I run out of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to herself, Brooks struggles to feed her cat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a friend who orders cat food once in a while, and she sends some my way. If I make a piece of fish, I\u2019ll share a little bit with him. He gets this treat and he loves it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brooks spends 22 hours per week volunteering in Project Hospitality\u2019s food pantry. This allows Brooks some social time, and to give back to the community that has been good to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been blessed a few times in my life. I want to bless others; I like helping people. Volunteering is a great way to do it, you know. Plus, it gives me a social experience. It gets me out of the house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Many Staten Islanders are food insecure<\/p>\n
Food insecurity <\/a>and the negative health outcomes that stem from an innutritious diet are issues that impact thousands in all corners of the borough, but as is often the case, those struggling financially are disproportionately impacted.<\/p>\n The Staten Island Advance\/SILive.com analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) 2023 PLACES: Local Data for Better Health finding that areas where a higher percentage of residents rely on government assistance to afford food have higher rates of various health conditions that stem from poor diet.<\/p>\n Data from Staten Island reveals a clear correlation between economic hardship and chronic health conditions: ZIP codes with higher percentages of residents receiving SNAP benefits tend to have elevated rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. <\/p>\n A message to government officials<\/p>\n Brooks says the situation is getting dire for many people who are food insecure, as well as those who can\u2019t work due to the government shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cHurry up and open the government…people need to be able to buy food, and people are not getting paid. And that\u2019s not fair. How would they like it if they weren\u2019t getting paid,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Westerleigh resident Patricia Brooks, 70, loves oranges. But these days, oranges can be pricey,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-28080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}