Hunger Free America

Food access programs like SNAP and WIC promote nutrition security for millions of New Yorkers and are proven to be the most effective tools to fight hunger. Research shows that SNAP participation reduces food insecurity by as much as 30% and allows low-income households to afford healthy food. Other programs like school meals and Summer EBT ensure that millions of children have access to healthy meals during the school year and summer months. SNAP and WIC together could enable 3.3 million New Yorkers to obtain $8.3 billion in groceries over the next year; even a small cut in those benefits would deprive the most vulnerable New Yorkers—and the State’s food economy—of hundreds of millions worth of food. Given the shared federal, State, and local administration of food benefit programs, federal policies could have varying impacts across New York State and subpopulations (e.g., rural, older adults, and immigrant communities). In 2025, NYHealth awarded Hunger Free America a grant to monitor policy changes and provide analyses and insights on the immediate and long-term impacts of federal policy changes to SNAP, WIC, and other key food access programs.   

Under this grant, HFA will monitor proposed and enacted policy changes, create public education materials (e.g., fact sheets, toolkits) to disseminate through State and local networks, and convene stakeholders. It will create a series of reports related to future shifts in the federal policy landscape; share findings, amplify recommendations, and engage audiences through various media channels.