En esta noticia
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed that a municipal operation allowed nearly 223,000 people to keep access to SNAP, the key food assistance benefit, despite the new federal rules that threatened to leave them without that aid.
According to the Mayor’s Office, the coordinated response among several agencies reduced by 65% the number of New Yorkers who were going to lose the benefit. The changes stem from federal law H.R. 1, which tightened work requirements and eliminated automatic exemptions that had been in effect until March.
How did New York get 223,000 people to keep the benefit?
The effort combined coordination among city agencies and neighborhood-by-neighborhood work to identify those who needed help. The focus was on documenting medical or caregiving exemptions and connecting residents with employment and education programs that meet the new rules.
Without that intervention, New Yorkers could have lost about food assistance over a year. Even so, about 40,000 people are still at risk this month, according to city data that identify young single men as the most exposed group.
What should people at risk of losing SNAP do?
Those who received a notice or noticed that their card was not loaded can call 718-SNAP-NOW (718-762-7669) to review their situation or request an exemption. The city also offers guidance through the ACCESS HRA app and on the website nyc.gov/ACCESSHRA.
How to meet the new federal requirements
To keep the assistance, adults without dependents must meet at least one of these conditions each month:
- Work a minimum of 20 hours per week (80 hours per month).
- Participate in an approved training or education program with the same hourly commitment.
- Do volunteer work at an approved organization, depending on the benefit amount.
Those who fail to do so may begin to lose the aid under the federal policy of “three strikes”, which reduces or cancels SNAP after three months of noncompliance.