Big changes are coming to SNAP. Thousands in NY risk losing benefits.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers receiving food stamps will have to prove starting next month that they’re working, or risk losing the federal benefit that helps them pay for groceries.

The Trump administration is giving states until the first week of November to roll out the expanded work rules, months earlier than New York officials expected.

The change is worrying advocates for low-income New Yorkers and city officials, who contend it will mean kicking thousands off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, at a time when many are struggling to afford rising food costs.

”It is a virtually impossible timeline to meet,” said Molly Wasow Park, New York City’s Department of Social Services commissioner. She said her agency was working closely with the state to make sure SNAP recipients are informed of the new rules and what they need to do to meet them.

“ Simply working is not enough to meet work requirements. Your work has to be well-documented and consistent. And in an economy where a lot of people are working shift work, a lot of people are in a gig economy, that's very, very difficult,” Park said.

What are the new requirements?

Every month, SNAP recipients will need to document they are working, volunteering or enrolled in an education program for 80 hours in order to maintain their benefits. Otherwise, they will only be eligible for SNAP for three months in a three-year period.

Previously, New York and many other states had secured waivers exempting able-bodied SNAP recipients from meeting such work requirements. Those exemptions were originally to expire in February; the Trump administration moved the end date up to November.

“If you’re going to do stuff like this to people at the last minute, it throws people off,” said Maria Walles, a member of Safety Net Activists, a group of volunteers advocating on issues that they’ve experienced. “A lot of people may not know, like people living on the street.”

The additional work rules are part of the tax and spending measure President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans pushed through in July, as part of what they touted as a way to curb “waste, fraud and abuse.”

Recipients between the ages of 18 and 64 will have to provide documentation that they are working in order to keep their benefits longer than three months.

What else is changing?

Other changes to SNAP will make New York state and New York City pay for more of the administrative costs of the program and, for the first time, 15% of the benefit.

“The changes and cuts to SNAP, approved by the Republican Congress and signed by President Trump, will undermine the program’s foundation and significantly increase state and local costs,” said Anthony Farmer, a spokesperson for the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which administers SNAP.

“With federally funded nutrition programs like SNAP under attack in Washington, Governor [Kathy] Hochul will continue to be laser-focused on ensuring New Yorkers can access resources and supports necessary to uplift them and their families,” Farmer said.

How many people will this affect and when?

In New York City, 1.8 million people receive SNAP, including 500,000 children. City officials estimate the new work rules will affect 240,000 people.

That estimate includes recipients between the ages of 18 and 64 who are not eligible for exemptions due to disability. Additionally, new categories of recipients who have never been subject to work requirements will now have to meet them. That includes homeless people, veterans, those aging out of foster care and parents with children aged 14 years and older. Before, parents were exempt until their children turned 18.

Able-bodied individuals will need to meet work requirements as of Nov. 2, and those who don’t could lose their benefits by March. New categories of people subject to the rules will have to meet them when they go to recertify for their benefits.

What are state and city officials doing to prepare?

Officials with both say they will issue guidance to SNAP recipients on what they must do.

“SNAP administrative offices are gonna be overburdened. So really it's gonna fall on nonprofits and advocates and community support to help folks navigate it,” Jerome Nathaniel,  director of policy and government relations at City Harvest, a food rescue nonprofit. “But it's a muscle that we haven't used.”

He said SNAP recipients could find help through groups like Hunger Free America or visit hungersolutionsny.org to find local organizations to help them navigate the changes.

How does the federal government shutdown figure into all this?

For now, the shutdown is not expected to affect benefit payments for the month of October. But the city says a prolonged shutdown could put November’s benefits at risk.