Brooklyn food pantries brace for SNAP cuts as November deadline looms
At St. John’s Bread and Life Center, staff served 419 people in a single day. Executive Director Caroline Tweedy says that number could climb dramatically if benefits are cut.
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With federal SNAP benefits set to expire for 240,000 New Yorkers on Nov. 1, food pantries across Brooklyn are preparing for a surge in demand that could strain already limited resources.
At St. John’s Bread and Life Center, staff served 419 people in a single day. Executive Director Caroline Tweedy says that number could climb dramatically if benefits are cut.
“We might have to reduce the number of items we offer people, but we will never turn anyone away,” Tweedy said. “People used to come to us at the end of the month when their SNAP ran out. Now we are the sole support for a lot of folks in the community.”
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides monthly food assistance to low-income individuals and families. If Congress does not renew funding, many recipients could lose access starting next month.
Lincoln, a SNAP recipient, said he’s already feeling the pressure. “I’m worried. I’m worried about it right now. Anything is better than nothing.”
The ripple effect is being felt beyond traditional food banks. Community fridges, like the one on Pulaski Street, are struggling to stay stocked.
“There are way more people getting the food and it’s getting way more empty,” said Keegan Stephan, who manages the fridge and now restocks it three times a day.
But he says it's not just a problem of increased demand, as the same federal cuts that could stop SNAP, could also hurt the ability of nonprofits, mutual aid groups and food networks to purchase donations in bulk to keep supplies stocked, just as demand would spike.
"People would be taking more, and we'd have trouble keeping it full, we'll need to help each other more lean on neighbors and build out the infrastructure to keep people fed, because the food is still out there to be donated," he said.
Tweedy tells News 12 they already went through a cut of almost a million dollars to their food outreach, and says while their funding is uncertain, they will turn no one away.
"We have reached out to donors, we are reaching out to more partners, but we will be here, in some form we will be here," she said, touting the 2,000 hot meals the group also served just that day alone.
