Quoted Text

Food Stamp Funding

Beginning with the April allotment, low-and moderate-income households across New York that participate in the State’s Food Stamp Program will see an increase of 13.6 percent in their current monthly Food Stamp benefit. The maximum monthly Food Stamp benefit for a family of four will increase from $588 to $668. The minimum monthly benefit will also be increased from $14 to $16. In addition, low-and moderate-income individuals and families in New York City will receive approximately $837 million in Food Stamp dollars, and those in Long Island will receive approximately $51 million from ARRA funds.

The estimated cumulative impact of this funding that will go to individuals and families in Upstate counties will total approximately:
Albany, $13.5 million
Allegany, $2.5 million
Broome, $12.3 million
Cattaraugus, $4.3 million
Cayuga, $4.1 million
Chautauqua, $10 million
Chemung, $5.9 million
Chenango, $3.3 million
Clinton, $4.8 million
Columbia, $2 million
Cortland, $2.8 million
Delaware, $2 million
Dutchess, $8 million
Erie, $59.6 million
Essex, $1.3 million
Franklin, $2.8 million
Fulton, $4 million
Genesee, $2.2 million
Greene, $2.2 million
Hamilton, $141,000
Herkimer, $3.8 million
Jefferson, $5.7 million
Lewis, $1.2 million
Livingston, $2.7 million
Madison, $3.2 million
Monroe, $46.2 million
Montgomery, $3.9 million
Nassau, $19.7 million
Niagara, $12 million
Oneida, $15.4 million
Onondaga, $26 million
Ontario, $3.8 million
Orange, $15.8 million
Orleans, $2.4 million
Oswego, $7.4 million
Otsego, $2.3 million
Putnam, $646,000
Rensselaer, $7.4 million
Rockland, $14.1 million
St. Lawrence, $6.3 million
Saratoga, $5.3 million
Schenectady, $7.6 million
Schoharie, $1.3 million
Schuyler, $953,000
Seneca, $1.1 million
Steuben, $4.5 million
Suffolk, $30.7 million
Sullivan, $4.3 million
Tioga, $2.4 million
Tompkins, $3.6 million
Ulster, $6.8 million
Warren, $2.8 million
Washington, $2.9 million
Wayne, $3.9 million
Westchester, $27 million
Wyoming, $1.3 million
Yates, $1.2 million
New York City, $837 million

Studies of the Food Stamp program show that 80 percent of all benefits are redeemed within two weeks of receipt, and 97 percent are spent within a month. In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that every additional $5 in Food Stamp spending generates roughly $9.20 in economic activity.

The additional Food Stamp funding complements ongoing efforts by the State to make nutrition assistance more accessible, particularly for low-income working families. During the last few years, New York has implemented a series of new programs and initiatives aimed at increasing access to this vital support and, as a result, enrollment in the program has reached an all-time high of 2.2 million recipients