U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced her ideas for improving nutrition and addressing food insecurity ahead of the 2023 Farm Bill.

More than 33 million people in the United States live in households that are food insecure, with roughly 2.9 million people in New York relying on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Gillibrand’s priorities to combat food insecurity and increase access to nutritious meals in the Farm Bill include strengthening SNAP benefits, expanding the SNAP program to people living in Puerto Rico, and ensuring disadvantaged populations always have a pathway to food.

Gillibrand’s announcement follows her questioning of USDA officials at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing where she pushed experts on the importance of maintaining adequate SNAP benefits, improving the SNAP Employment & Training program, improving the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, and more.

With the current legislation set to expire on September 30, 2023, Congress is working to draft a new, five-year Farm Bill with congressional hearings already underway to determine public and private stakeholders’ priorities for the reauthorization.

The legislation mandates the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to apply for USDA approval to authorize the program, which would allow homeless, elderly and disabled SNAP recipients to use their benefits for prepared or hot food from participating restaurants.

The Governor also announced the launch of the $25 million Restaurant Resiliency Program to provide relief to the restaurant industry, which continues to face severe challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program, proposed by the legislature, will build on the Nourish New York initiative. It will provide funding to New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers to purchase prepared meals from New York restaurants and deliver them to families in need.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is urging her colleagues in Congress to expand the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and increase benefits in the next coronavirus relief package.

Gillibrand said that even before the current coronavirus crisis began, SNAP was providing food assistance to 38 million Americans.  She said that now with millions more Americans dealing with economic fallout from widespread business closures and subsequent job losses, more low income households, the elderly, and people with disabilities are relying on this vital social safety net to feed themselves and their families.

In alignment with the recently passed HEROES Act,  Gillibrand is pushing Congress to provide an increase in maximum SNAP benefits by 15 percent and to also expand the SNAP program so that more Americans have more options to put nutritious food on the table.

As WRFA reported last week, some 500 families across the 23rd Congressional District, which includes all of Chautauqua County, have not received a paycheck from the government during the shutdown. That was according to Congressman Tom Reed’s Office.

We were not able to get a specific number for families in Chautauqua County or the Jamestown area. However, the Post-Journal is reporting that 128 families have received assistance this week through a special food distribution by the Food Bank of WNY and held at the Salvation Army in Jamestown. Some of those families include those affected by the shutdown – though a specific number was not provided in the report.

In addition to federal workers not receiving pay, the shutdown is also affecting residents who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP and formerly referred to as food stamps.

Families that rely on SNAP, including those in Chautauqua County, received their SNAP benefits for the month of February earlier than expected.

According to the Post-Journal, local social services districts including the one here in the county had to recertify SNAP recipients early and it was done last week, so SNAP recipients received a larger than normal amount of money on the EBT card because it also included February’s amount.

As a result, the SNAP recipients are being advised to ration their food credits through the end of February.

Earlier this month, WRFA reported that the Novo Dia Group said it will end its service by July 31, leaving about 1,700 of the more than 7,000 farmers’ markets nationwide no way to serve SNAP customers, unless a new opportunity presents itself.

The group is an Austin-based company that processes some 40 percent of SNAP transactions at farmers markets nationwide, including the one Jamestown.

Jamestown Public Market Manager Linnea Carlson recently told WRFA that the software and equipment used by the market to process SNAP payments can be now used until the end of August.

“We were fortunate enough to have so many advocates working around the country raise awareness and help this program that a non-profit stepped up to fund it through the end of August,” Carlson said.

Carlson said that while the Jamestown Market will now be able to continue processing SNAP payments through August, she and other directors across the country are hopeful a long-term solution will eventually come forward.

“The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation and other markets in the country are working diligently every day to ensure we don’t lose those benefits. We don’t want the community to feel that can’t use it. It’s business as usual and you can continue to use your SNAP benefits and Debit cards at the Jamestown Public Market,” she said.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – also known as SNAP and previous known as food stamps – allows low income residents the ability to pay for food, including fresh fruit and vegetables at participating farmers markets.

JAMESTOWN – Some food stamp recipients across the country– including the Jamestown Public Market – could soon lose access to farmers market benefits.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – also known as SNAP and previous known as food stamps – allows low income residents the ability to pay for food, including fresh fruit and vegetables at participating farmers markets. But technical difficulties may put an end to some markets being able to accept SNAP payments.

According to the Washington Post, the Novo Dia Group, an Austin-based company that processes some 40 percent of SNAP transactions at farmers markets nationwide, said it will end its service by July 31, leaving about 1,700 of the more than 7,000 markets that offer SNAP (including the one in Jamestown) with no way to serve low-income customers, unless a new opportunity presents itself.

In 2012 the USDA set up the Free SNAP Wireless Equipment Program to provide mobile devices to farmers markets. Since then, more than 2,500 markets have received card readers, tablets or smartphones. But markets still needed software to process the federal benefits.

That’s where Novo Dia and others came in. With their various platforms in place, SNAP benefits redeemed at farmers markets nationally increased by 35 percent, to $22.4 million in 2017 from $16.5 million in 2012, meaning more fresh produce for low-income people in both rural areas and cities.

Farmers markets like the Jamestown Public Market have been able to accept payment via the federal SNAP program since 2012, when software technology was made available to process benefit cards. However, one of the largest software providers has announced it will no longer be able to process payments by July 31, 2018 leaving hundreds of farmers markets, including Jamestown, in limbo.

“At the present time, we are extremely grateful to have the support of advocates, such as the Farmers Market Federation of NY and the Farmers Market Coalition, as they work with the Novo Dia Group to find a solution,” Jamestown Public Market manager Linnea Carlson told WRFA. “We are remaining optimistic that service will not be interrupted and we will continue to accept SNAP benefits at our market.”

The shutdown also could compromise a range of incentive programs that have emerged over the past decade to improve low-income shoppers’ access to healthful food, including dollar-for-dollar matching of all purchases.

“Right now, we do not want to cause the public to feel that they can not continue to use their benefits. They can. We have been instructed to carry on business as usual until a solution can be found,” Carlson said.

However, she said the local market also wants to make this issue known to the public for several reasons; the first being, SNAP benefits at the Jamestown market and others across the country benefit both the customer and  farmers/growers.

“All monies stay local, and support small, family farms and local business. The ability of individuals and families to spend their SNAP benefits at our public market has increased healthy food access in Jamestown and has made our market inclusive of all community members,” Carlson said.

Carlson added that the Jamestown market also feels it’s important for the community to be aware of these issues and stay vigilant in holding both elected officials and businesses accountable as changes are made within the food system.

“Whether this is sharing the news as detailed in the Washington Post, advocating for a strong 2018 Farm Bill, or volunteering for community projects, our community can make a change,” she said.

Carlson added that the Jamestown Public Market is standing by the Farmers Market Coalition’s statement.

“While we work to aid impacted markets, we encourage communities nationwide to get out and support their farmers markets like never before. Invite a friend, take your family, and enjoy the festive atmosphere. But above all, buy from your local farmer. You depend on them for the food you eat. They depend on your business to grow your food,” the coalition’s statement read.

In the divisive debate over food assistance, the success of SNAP at farmers markets has been one of the few issues that Washington lawmakers agree on. Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning) told WRFA Wednesday morning that he was unaware of the news regarding the Nova Dia Group, but added he will look into the matter.

“What we’ll do is follow up to make sure the Jamestown Public Market and others have the capabilities to ensure those  SNAP benefits are being utilized and available to the people to access them at the farmers markets not only across the district, but I imagine this is something that would impact the entire nation as a whole when you lose a provider of that magnitude,” Reed said.