Testimony: Addressing Food Insecurity and Economic Hardship in the FY26 State Budget
Debipriya Chatterjee
Thank you to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Senate Social Services Committee Chair Persaud, Speaker Heastie, Assembly Social Services Committee Chair Davila, the New York State Finance Committee, and the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee for this opportunity.
My name is Debipriya Chatterjee, and I am the Senior Economist with the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), an organization dedicated to improving the lives of low-income New Yorkers and championing a more equitable city. For 180 years, CSS has provided comprehensive direct services, engaged in rigorous research and policy analysis, and advanced strategic advocacy initiatives to alleviate hardship and promote economic opportunity for our fellow New Yorkers.
My testimony today will focus on key recommendations that have the potential to drastically improve food security and reduce economic hardship for New Yorkers.
But first, some context. The Community Service Society of New York’s statewide Annual Survey of Housing and Economic Security, conducted in the fall of 2024, provides valuable insights into the struggles households face across the state. Drawing from this survey, I will highlight key findings on food insecurity and economic hardship to support the legislative proposals listed below.
Food insecurity
CSS’ survey shows that 22 percent of New Yorkers experienced food insecurity in the past year, defined as skipping meals or going hungry due to lack of food, or receiving free meals from a food pantry, soup kitchen, or meal program. Among low-income New Yorkers–those with incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)–the rate was even higher at 38 percent. And this was as true for New York City as for Hudson Valley or Upstate. Households with children had higher rates, with 27 percent reporting food insecurity. Even among those with full-time employment, nearly 1-in-5 reported struggling to put food on the table. Unsurprisingly, food insecurity rates were higher among Black and Hispanic/Latino households, reflecting current and historical inequities.
Economic hardship
Economic hardship extends beyond food insecurity. Our survey shows that:
- Over a third of low-income households (with incomes up to 200 percent of FPL) had to cut back on basic necessities, such as school supplies.
- Eighteen percent of low-income households and 13 percent of moderate-income (200-300 percent FPL) could not afford transportation. In urban areas like New York City, this often meant being unable to afford public transit; in suburban areas, it meant struggling with car-related costs.
- Eighteen percent of low-income households could not afford high-speed internet, limiting their ability to pursue education and job opportunities.
- Around 14 percent of respondents postponed medical procedures or did not refill prescriptions due to fiscal constraints.
Recommendations
To alleviate food insecurity, we strongly urge the state legislature and the Governor to:
1) Ensure a minimum monthly SNAP benefit of $100.
Since the expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments, some New Yorkers receive as little as $23 per month—an unlivable amount. Providing a minimum benefit of $100 per month would assist over 107,000 New Yorkers, particularly older adults making around $16,000 per year, including those on SSI. We urge the State to appropriate $70 million to implement this policy (A.06214, Gonzalez-Rojas/S.7663, May).
2) Create a state-funded “SNAP4All” program.
Over 800,000 New Yorkers are excluded from federal SNAP benefits due to immigration status, despite contributing over $3 billion annually in state and local taxes. New York’s Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council (CPRAC) has recommended a state-funded food benefit for all children, regardless of immigration status. We urge you to take this recommendation a step further and extend state-funded SNAP benefits to all income-eligible non-citizens. We estimate that it would cost an additional $253 million for the state to create such a program.
3) Establish a universal healthy school meals program.
As proposed by the Governor in the Executive Budget, providing free school meals for all children would alleviate food insecurity, support learning, and improve children’s mental and physical health.
To improve economic security, we urge the state legislature and the Governor to:
4) Increase the cash assistance benefits (A.106, Rosenthal/S.1127, Persaud).
Basic needs allowances (for essentials like clothing, diapers, hygiene products, and transportation) and home energy allowances have not been updated since 2012 and the 1980s, respectively. Increasing these benefits by 100 percent, as recommended by CPRAC, would support 396,000 families at an estimated state funding cost of $316 million.
5) Establish parity for homeless cash assistance recipients (A.108, Rosenthal /S.113, Cleare).
Currently, individuals in shelters receive just $45 per month, while families with children receive $63 per person—amounts unchanged since 1997. Increasing these benefits by up to 100 percent would improve economic security for 9,000 shelter residents at an estimated additional cost of $11 million.
6) Eliminate resource tests for cash assistance recipients and extend earned income disregard (A. 4352, Rosenthal).
Under current rules, cash assistance is cut off if households have a meager $2,500 in savings, creating steep “benefit cliffs” that trap families in poverty. Extending the earned income disregard to all applicants would prevent penalizing work and promote financial stability. The state has already eliminated resource tests for SNAP recipients—now it should do the same for cash assistance.
As you consider these proposals, it is essential for the state to develop capacity to accurately measure economic need. The National True Cost of Living campaign, a joint effort by CSS and the Federation for Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), commissioned the Urban Institute to develop the True Cost of Economic Security (TCES)—a new measure that takes into account a comprehensive set of costs that modern families face alongside the resources available to them. Urban’s report found that 54 percent of all families in New York state lack the resources to make ends meet. This measure underscores how extraordinarily inadequate our social assistance programs are. And more importantly, how they are designed to penalize poverty and perpetuate suffering instead of helping individuals and families tide through difficult times. We urge our elected representatives to consider adopting such a measure and use it as a tool in guiding policymaking.
Too many New Yorkers are teetering on the edge of economic security. This budget is a chance to demonstrate that our state prioritizes dignity, opportunity, and equity for all its residents.
Thank you again for allowing me to present this testimony. Please reach out to me at dchatterjee@cssny.org if you have any questions.