‘AN UNIMAGINABLE NEED’

Catholic Charities food pantries in the Diocese of Albany reeling as SNAP benefits set to end

People hold up signs protesting against cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington in this file photo. With funding for SNAP scheduled to lapse Nov. 1, 2025, due to the federal government shutdown, Catholic outreach leaders are warning that the increased need could stretch many hunger relief ministries, and those they serve, to the limit. (OSV News photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters) (Courtesy photo of Joshua Roberts)

In an ongoing battle against food insecurity, Catholic Charities is on the front lines. 

As of Nov. 1, the United States Department of Agriculture ceased funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal program that provides funds to eligible and in-need families to purchase food, during the federal government shutdown.

The program currently funds nearly three million New Yorkers and is estimated that the interruption of SNAP benefits cut off approximately $650 million in aid, including to 800,000 senior citizens and over 1 million children.

Those left without benefits have begun turning to food pantries to supplement the loss, and the impacts of the high turnout are being felt. 

“It’s an unimaginable need,” said Jenn Hyde, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Tri-County Agency. 

Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany oversees 12 food pantries, three soup kitchens, two congregate meal sites for seniors, Meals on Wheels for homebound individuals, and programs like Food Farmacy, WIC, and NOEP that connect families with healthy food and nutrition education.

Together, these programs serve approximately 30,000 individuals each year. The food pantries alone cost more than $316,000 annually to operate. 

Hyde, who oversees six of the Catholic Charities food pantries, said the timing of the cuts was like a “perfect storm,” as food pantries are already strapped from increased attendance as the cost of living continues to climb. 

“I looked at the numbers of how many people we served in September (2024) to this past September, and we increased the number of people served by 25 percent,” Hyde said, “and that’s before people are losing their SNAP benefits.”

In the week leading up to the cutoff, Hyde spent as much time in her food pantries as she could.

“I’m seeing the guests that come to us and they’re asking, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ ” she said. “I talked to a volunteer who answered the phone for us, and within the first hour of the day she took five phone calls from people who hadn’t needed to turn to a food pantry before.”

“We do this work all year long and the need is rising exponentially every day, adding this component to it is just the unimaginable piece,” Hyde added. “When I lay my head on the pillow at night, and I think of senior citizens and kids and hard-working single moms being hungry, I struggle. It takes a toll.”

On Oct. 30, Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statewide disaster emergency from the loss of the federal SNAP benefits, allocating $106 million in emergency funding to help stock food pantries and distribution centers. 

Still, there is work to be done. The ripple effects of the SNAP loss will be felt in more places than just the pantries as customers, who relied on that income, will drop from grocery stores, farmers markets and bodegas. 

To combat this, Catholic Charities is calling on those who can help to advocate for food assistance. A list of ways to assist — including how to contact local members of congress, data available on SNAP benefits to share online, and ways to make a monetary donation to food pantries — is available on Catholic Charities’ website: https://bit.ly/CCPantries

“Food drives — in your neighborhood, in your church, in your youth group, or just in your own household — at this point, anything is going to help stock our shelves,” said Hyde. 

To donate to a food pantry, or for more ways to help, visit https://bit.ly/CCPantries.