U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stood alongside Rochester-Finger Lakes religious leaders, food banks, farmers and community residents on May 27 to discuss the impact of the proposed $300 billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cut. The reduction and others are being used to fund President Donald Trump’s tax breaks for corporations and billionaires.

On May 22, a sweeping Republican bill, which President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill,” passed the U.S House. With this bill Americans could see major changes to Medicaid, food stamps, border security and taxes.

According to Schumer, over 150,000 kids, seniors and families in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region rely on these anti-hunger programs for food.

“Trump already canceled 24 truckloads of U.S farm-grown food headed to hungry families in Rochester, and these cuts would be a double whammy. This is not a partisan issue, it is a moral issue,” Schumer said. “I’m here with our food banks, faith leaders, and farmers on the frontlines to stand up to protect these programs and stop this cruel cut to SNAP.”

Republican leaders at the federal level have defended the sweeping federal budget cuts, saying that it fulfills an election promise that voters voted for. Also, they’ve said the American government has over-extended itself trying to help people with more-than-basic necessities. One national leader, U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, talked recently about the scaling back as it affects a program like Medicaid.

“Medicaid was created to provide health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves, but Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission,” he said.

In western New York, Doreen Young, a curbside market ambassador for Foodlink, expressed how inflation makes it harder to make ends meet and how she tries to help her neighbors stretch their food budgets.

Young also spoke about her personal experience of receiving SNAP benefits and how as a working mother she needed the benefits to supplement her income.

“I budget, I meal plan, and I teach others to do the same. It’s still hard,” Young said. “It’s still a struggle for a thousand people and to cut the SNAP benefits right now makes no sense to me or anyone else.”

Helping feed hungry western New York

Last year, Rochester’s Foodlink and its network of over 350 food pantries across the 10-county Rochester Finger Lakes region recorded 1.8 million requests for food assistance, which is a 36% increase from the prior year.

Julia Tedesco, president and CEO of Foodlink, said these SNAP cuts proposed in the House bill would take away billions of meals for some of the nation’s most vulnerable residents.

“At a time when food insecurity rates are high and visits to local food pantries spiked 40% last year, Foodlink and our partners simply cannot fill the gap with a SNAP reduction of this magnitude,” Tedesco said. “We call on Congress to oppose these cuts to ensure the health and wellbeing of our neighbors during these challenging times.”

According to Schumer, under the Republican proposal, the average family would be reduced to just $5 per day per person.

This proposal would also include the addition of a work requirement that raises the age to access SNAP benefits from age 55 to 64 and only exempt SNAP recipients from work requirements if they have someone younger than seven years old in their household.

USDA funding freeze already squeezing

Dawn Burdick, executive director of Rochester Hope North Clinton Food Pantry, said the USDA funding freeze has already made it harder for them to keep shelves stocked and supply healthy options, so future cuts to SNAP would only make things worse.

“Any future cuts to SNAP will surely have an even more wide-ranging impact- not only making it tougher for families to put food on the table, but also straining our ability to keep up with the growing need,” Burdick said.

The Rev. Tedd Pullano, Third Presbyterian Church Associate pastor for outreach, said they serve over 200 people every week through their free Food Cupboard and Saturday meal.

“The recent USDA funding elimination freeze is detrimental to that effort and dangerous to people; now the proposal to cut SNAP funding would further damage families and hamper these beautiful people’s ability to survive. SNAP is the backbone of food security for so many in our community,” Pullano said. “We’re grateful, and proud, to stand in our faith, alongside Senator Schumer and push to protect this important SNAP funding – and care for people who are working hard and trying to make ends meet.”

— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County. Get in touch at kweaver@gannett.com.

— USA TODAY contributed reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: SNAP benefits in NY cut by ‘big, beautiful bill’, Chuck Schumer warns

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