AFTER HOUSE GOP VOTED TO MAKE LARGEST CUT TO FOOD ASSISTANCE IN HISTORY - IMPACTING 150,000 IN ROCHESTER-FINGER LAKES – SCHUMER SAYS WE MUST UNITE TO SAVE SNAP; STANDING WITH ROCHESTER FAITH LEADERS, FARMERS, & FOOD BANKS, WILL SHOW DEVASTATING LOCAL IMPACTS OF GOP BILL, DEMANDS GOP BLOCK CUTS THAT RISK MILLIONS OF KIDS, SENIORS, & FAMILIES GOING HUNGRY ACROSS AMERICA
Schumer Says Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Be Ugly For Hardworking NY Families, Decimating Healthcare & Funding For Local Hospitals, Raising Energy Costs By Slashing $$ For Clean Energy Projects Across NY & Raising Costs For Counties Across The Board By Shifting The Costs For Vital Programs Like SNAP & Medicaid
Already 24 Truckloads Of Produce For Foodlink’s 350+ Rochester-Area Food Pantries Have Been Canceled Due To Trump’s Cruel USDA Cuts & Now With GOP Voting To Make Largest SNAP Cut In History; Senator, With Church Leaders & Advocates, Says Double Whammy Could Hurtle Rochester-Finger Lakes To A Hunger Crisis
Schumer: No Child In Rochester Should Go To Bed Hungry
After House Republicans just last week voted to pass the largest cut to the anti-hunger program SNAP in American history, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today stood with Rochester-Finger Lakes religious leaders, food banks, and farmers on the frontlines of the local fight against hunger to show the devastating local impacts the massive proposed $300 billion SNAP cut to fund Trump’s tax breaks for corporations & billionaires. Over 150,000 kids, seniors and families in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region rely on these anti-hunger programs for food, and Schumer joined with church leaders to detail exactly why these new cuts would be so harmful, and demand that the GOP stop this devastating assault that could hurtle Rochester and millions of others across America to a hunger crisis.
“Last week, in the dark of night, House Republicans rushed to pass their so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ in the hopes that their massive cuts to American families would go unnoticed. We are here to ensure that doesn’t happen, and shine a light on how the largest cut to food assistance in history could hurtle 150,000 kids, seniors, and families into a hunger crisis,” said Senator Schumer. “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. 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. Stealing from anti-hunger programs that feed Rochester families to pay for Trump’s tax breaks for corporations & billionaires is as backwards as it gets. There is nothing beautiful about cutting SNAP so children go hungry and can't learn or have productive lives. Senate Democrats are united in opposing this cruel bill, and we are united with the people to demand the GOP block these SNAP cuts. Otherwise, it will be families here in Rochester that go hungry.”
“How we care for those on the margins speaks volumes about who we are as a people,” said Pastor Doug Stewart of The Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word. “Many of our religious traditions have engrained in their DNA the call to care for the dignity and well-being of those on the margins – values that should compel us to stand against policies that sacrifice the poor on the altar of tax breaks and corporate privilege. In a nation with abundant resources, the persistence of hunger is a moral failing—a call to action for all who believe in equity and the common good. When dinner and grocery programs like those at Incarnate Word are pushed to their limits, we see the sharp painful consequences of such policies. I am grateful for the work of Senator Schumer and other community leaders in their tireless efforts of drawing attention to how drastic cuts in anti-hunger programs could lead to a full-blown hunger crisis that harms the most vulnerable. I’m proud to stand beside Senator Schumer today.”
Schumer explained how Trump’s USDA has already cruelly canceled $1 billion in food assistance including 24 truckloads of food locally, right as demand is surging. Schumer said if these SNAP cuts became law, it would be a double whammy. Rochester’s Foodlink and its network of 350+ Food Pantries across the 10-county Rochester Finger Lakes region last year alone recorded 1.8 million requests for food assistance (a 36% increase from the prior year), and if these SNAP cuts move forward they say it would be devastating.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a lifeline for nearly 3 million NY seniors, veterans and families who rely on the critical funding to purchase groceries. Schumer said that we should be investing more not less in anti-hunger programs, but under the Republican proposal, the average family would be reduced to just $5.00 per day per person. A breakdown of SNAP recipients in the Rochester-Finger Lakes region from the Center for American Progress can be found below:
|
County |
SNAP Recipients |
% of County on SNAP |
SNAP Retailers |
|
Genesee |
4,785 |
8.3% |
52 |
|
Livingston |
5,731 |
9.3% |
45 |
|
Monroe |
109,665 |
14.6% |
611 |
|
Ontario |
9,350 |
8.3% |
82 |
|
Orleans |
5,350 |
13.6% |
32 |
|
Seneca |
3,647 |
11.2% |
36 |
|
Wayne |
8,539 |
9.4% |
79 |
|
Wyoming |
2,513 |
6.4% |
33 |
|
Yates |
2,080 |
8.5% |
23 |
|
TOTAL |
151,660 |
993 |
Last week, House Republicans passed a bill that would rip $300 billion away from SNAP. This proposal would impact Rochester-Finger Lakes residents in many ways, including the addition of a work requirement which would raise the age to access SNAP benefits from age 55 to age 64 and only exempt SNAP recipients from work requirements if they have someone younger than 7 years old in their household, down from the current exemption for all families with children under 18 years old.
Schumer said, “I’m all for reducing any waste or fraud to make the program more efficient, but rushing to pass these massive damaging cuts with no plan while they slash our food banks is a recipe for disaster. Republicans are tying themselves in knots trying to justify these massive cuts. I ask my Republican friends this: which category does a hungry 7 year old fall under: are they waste? Are they fraud? Or are they abuse?”
Schumer explained the Republican proposal to cut $300 billion from SNAP would inevitably mean costs of feeding families shift to states, who simply do not have the capacity to absorb this massive increase in expenses, risking families going hungry. Under this Republican proposal, states would be required to pay 5 – 25% of their state’s SNAP benefits based on the state’s error rate. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), mandating New York State to cover even a modest share of SNAP benefits would shift astronomical costs to the state, with even just 5% increasing New York State’s costs by nearly $3.5 billion from FY2026 to FY2034. The senator said it is impossible to cut this much from federal SNAP funding without ripping food away from hungry children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and more. These figures represent just the costs from SNAP cuts and do not factor in additional costs states would have to bear if Republicans pass their proposed Medicaid cuts in this same bill.
These agonizing decisions would be amplified even further at the local level, with non-profits, many of whom have already had their funding cut, unable to fill in the gap. Counties could even be forced to shoulder the burden of increased costs in SNAP, using more local dollars to provide coverage because less federal funding will be coming in. During recessions or economic downturns, these impacts will be even more acute, as more people apply for benefits and state revenue declines, more children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and more will be turned away from this vital program due to insufficient federal funding.
The proposed SNAP cuts would be a blow to Rochester-Finger Lakes food banks which have already been hit hard by Trump’s funding freezes and canceled payments. Earlier this year, the USDA canceled $1 billion in food assistance for organizations to purchase locally grown food. USDA programs provide food banks, schools, and other organizations with federal support to purchase local food products from NY farms.
Trump’s USDA cuts have already hit the Rochester-Finger Lakes region hard. Rochester’s Foodlink has already been forced to cancel 24 truckloads of U.S. farm grown food worth approximately $1 million. Meanwhile, food insecurity is affecting more families across the region, with Foodlink seeing a 40% increase in visits to network food pantries and meal programs from 2023 to 2024.
Schumer said these proposed cuts will limit food banks’ ability to keep shelves stocked as more people have been forced to rely on food banks to feed their families. Food bank workers and religious leaders across Upstate New York are concerned about the impact of potential cuts to SNAP on the people they serve, and farmers are worried there will be nowhere to sell their food if SNAP funding levels drop.
"The devasting SNAP cuts proposed in the House bill will take away billions of meals for some of our nation's most vulnerable residents — and impact the health of our seniors, educational opportunities for our youth and the economic prosperity of our country," said Julia Tedesco, president & CEO of Foodlink. "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. We call on Congress to oppose these cuts to ensure the health and wellbeing of our neighbors during these challenging times."
Jay Formicola, Rochester resident who relies on SNAP said, “I receive SNAP benefits and they are a lifeline for me and thousands of people just like me across this region. We all know that prices in the grocery store are high. Inflation has made it harder and harder for me to makes ends meet. I work. I budget. I meal plan. And it’s still hard. Any plan that takes away food from working people like me, or families dealing with soaring cost of living, makes no sense. This will create worse and more costly problems.”
“We serve 500 households every week and see firsthand how food insecurity impacts Rochester families – from a mom unsure she’ll have enough food for her children during weekends, to seniors and working parents lining up in the cold and snow hours before our pantry doors even open,” said Dawn Burdick, Executive Director of Rochester Hope North Clinton Food Pantry, based on the campus of St. Michael’s. “Our families rely on the nearly 20,000 pounds of food we receive through Foodlink’s network every week, and fresh, locally grown produce is always most in demand. The USDA funding freeze has already made it harder for us to keep our shelves stocked and supply healthy options for our neighbors. 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. In a region as rich in resources as ours, it’s disheartening to see these threats to vital food programs increase the stress and insecurity faced by our community and the volunteers who work so tirelessly to help.”
Reverend Tedd Pullano, Third Presbyterian Church Associate Pastor for Outreach said, “Third Presbyterian Church has chosen to be a "Matthew 25 congregation”, which means we follow Jesus' call to care for all people, whoever they are. A big piece to following Jesus’ call is to "welcome and feed the hungry". Every week, through our free Food Cupboard and our Saturday meal, we serve over 200 people (approximately 600 per month). Our Food Cupboard is in a “self-service shopping format” that allows people to choose items that best meet their needs family. A critically important and popular aspect of our ministry is providing fresh dairy and produce through Foodlink to these families, so their children can grow up healthy and strong, mentally and physically. 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. 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.”
Sister Beth LeValley with the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Rochester said, “Yesterday, on Memorial Day we remembered those who gave their lives so that America and its ideals would endure. Just the loss of SNAP benefits alone would impact 11 million people including an estimated 4 million children. We should be ashamed to support, much less pass, legislation that penalizes the vulnerable at the same time that it compensates the wealthy. Penalizing the vulnerable and compensating the wealthy are not ideals held by people of faith; they are not ideals held by people of conscience; nor are they ideals embedded in our founding American documents. We are grateful Senator Schumer is here today joining with us to change the course of an ill-devised exercise of power –an exercise of power that benefits only a segment of our society. We welcome his support and urge more lawmakers to follow his lead.
Proposed rollbacks to the country’s most widely utilized nutrition assistance program would strain budgets for Rochester-Finger Lakes families. Schumer said decimating funding for SNAP right as costs at grocery stores across the country are skyrocketing will hit the Rochester-Finger Lakes region hard. According to the New York State Community Action Association, more than 15% of people in Monroe County live in poverty, including nearly 24% of children. According to No Kid Hungry, over half of New Yorkers reported going into debt in the past year due to rising food costs, with over 60% of families with children. According to the latest “Map the Meal Gap” report from Feeding America, nearly 10,000 more people experienced food insecurity in 2023 compared to 2022 within Foodlink’s 10-county Rochester Finger Lakes region service area. Approximately 160,920 residents experienced food insecurity in 2023, compared to 151,820 the year prior. Between 2021 and 2023, the region’s food insecurity rate rose from 9.3% to 12% to 12.8% which is the highest rate since 2013, and child food insecurity averaged 17.6%.
SNAP not only supplements families’ food budgets, it has also generated great economic benefits for New York State and NY-25 specifically. According to the National Grocers Association, grocery stores across New York State sold over $2.1 billion in groceries to people using SNAP benefits, including $149.8 million in NY-25. This created more than 18,500 New York jobs in the grocery industry, including 1,319 in NY-25, and generated more than $820.8 million in grocery industry wages, including $58.3 million in NY-25.
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