Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was in Rensselaer Monday, calling on New Yorkers and all Americans to protect the federal food program SNAP.
Flanked by church leaders and advocates for the hungry, the Democrat explained the USDA has already canceled $1 billion in food assistance. And he says cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits would impact 112,000 people in the Capital Region and 3 million families across New York state.
“The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York has already been devastated by these cuts," said Schumer. "They've had 27 tractor trailers full of food canceled, 1 million pounds of fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat. And guess where most of that comes from? New York farmers.”
Schumer says the country is on the precipice of a disaster as Republicans push to pass a tax bill with $230 billion in cuts.
Lindsey Wright is the mother of a special needs child dealing with food insecurity. She says qualifying for SNAP benefits was already challenging, without cuts.
“I was getting $23 a month at one point," said Wright, "and then they cut me off because I went over, because my son started getting his own Social Security. So that's kind of crazy, but that's for him, that's for him to get things he needs. That's for him to go to gyms, that's for him to, you know, just be able to, like, live in life and be able to have fun with other kids like him.”
Wright says she relies heavily on local food pantries, but her son's special diet severely limits her choices.
“It's actually based on call. You have to make an appointment, which is great, but it is hard to get an appointment. Sometimes you have to wait a couple weeks because it's already filled up,” Wright said.
Natasha Pernicka is Executive Director of Food Pantries for the Capital District. She says the coalition of 70 food banks provided groceries to 104,000 people in 2023, up 42% over the previous year.
"These are working families, working people. In fact, I was at a coffee shop the other day filling up a box of coffee to take to a meeting for work, and the woman who was getting the coffee said, 'oh, what meeting is this for?' And I said Coalition of Food Pantries, and she said, 'Oh, I just tried calling to find food this morning.’ She said, I work three jobs, and I'm a nursing student, and I'm having a really hard time getting food," Pernicka said.
Schumer’s visit comes as Congress continues drafting President Trump’s domestic agenda, what the president calls a “big, beautiful bill” he wants lawmakers to approve.
"We're calling on our New York House Republicans to block this bill," Schumer said. "In this region is Congresswoman Stefanik, is she going to stand for this?"
Stefanik’s office responded to a request for comment via email, saying in part “… she is committed to continuing to ensure that New York School children have access to nutritious foods." Her office adds Schumer is in political free fall .”
