Tens of thousands of Jewish households across New York City are expected to lose access to federal food assistance as the government shutdown grinds on, according to the UJA-Federation of New York.

The organization said roughly 74,000 Jewish families who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will see their benefits expire this Saturday, citing figures from a 2023 report on poverty in the Jewish community. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, confirmed that funding for the program will run out over the weekend if Congress does not act.

More than 42 million Americans depend on SNAP, receiving an average of $187 a month to buy food. The looming cutoff would hit vulnerable populations across the country—but in New York, Jewish communal leaders warn that the impact will be particularly acute.

“Food insecurity is not a theoretical issue—it’s a crisis for tens of thousands of families in our community,” a UJA spokesperson said. The group praised Governor Kathy Hochul for allocating $65 million in emergency state funding to support food providers, including pantries affiliated with the federation network.

UJA’s 2023 poverty report found that 12% of Jewish households in the New York area live below the poverty line and another 8% are considered “near poor.” Because those households tend to be larger, UJA estimates that roughly one in four New York Jews fall into those two categories—a  reminder, the group says, that hunger and economic hardship cut across all segments of the city’s Jewish population.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)