These New Yorkers are most likely to lose food aid under Trump’s spending cuts

New York City officials and food pantry organizers say thousands of local recipients of federally funded food benefits are at risk of losing them under President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax law.

Republicans say the tax-and-spending law, which Trump signed earlier this month, is meant to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the law will primarily benefit wealthy Americans and leave the poorest families worse off.

“We’re in worst-case scenario territory,” said Molly Wasow Park, commissioner of the city Department of Social Services. “ Bottom line: There’s going to be many more food-insecure people.”

The law contains a series of measures that food advocates say will effectively push people off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps 1.8 million New Yorkers afford their groceries every month. The cuts slash payments for some, kick others out of the program and require thousands more to show proof they are working consistently if they want to keep receiving their benefits.

The federal government has always covered the value of SNAP benefits since the program, which is administered by states and localities, began during the Great Depression. But under the new law, New York will for the first time have to pay 15% of the benefits, or about $1.2 billion a year, as soon as October 2027, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

States will also have to absorb additional administrative expenses for the program. Hochul said those costs will be passed onto the city, which officials estimate will be $111 million. That means the state and city will have to decide how to come up with the money.

Emergency food providers say the cuts will be a “catastrophe” and affect the most vulnerable people in the city as rents are surging, food prices are rising and families can’t afford the cost of child care.

Here’s how the new law will affect different groups of SNAP recipients.

Able-bodied adults

Able-bodied people aged 18 to 54 have always been required to work to get food benefits for more than three months, but because of New York’s high unemployment rate, New York City SNAP recipients have been exempt from those rules for a long time.

Now that waiver will end for the state, meaning everyone who is able-bodied and does not have a young dependent child will have to submit proper documentation to prove they’re working to keep their benefits.

City officials say it’s unclear when the work requirements will kick in, noting the state’s waiver expires in February but the Trump administration could end that waiver sooner.

The work rules have also been extended to two new groups of people: adults up to age 65 and parents of older children. The city estimates that’s about 250,000 people who will become subject to work rules or risk losing their benefits.

The antipoverty organization Robin Hood estimates about two-thirds of SNAP recipients in the city are working. But proving compliance with the work rules, which are tightening under the new law, can be onerous. Gig workers like app-based drivers and domestic workers, as well as those who are paid in cash or have inconsistent hours, could have an even harder time documenting consistent work, policy advocates say.

Older adults ages 55 to 64

The work rules will now apply to older adults until they turn 65. Previously, the rules applied to able-bodied adults 18 to 54 years old.

“ Imagine a 64-year-old trying to find a job in the current market just to make sure they’re able to feed their family,” said Jerome Nathaniel,  director of policy and government relations at food rescue nonprofit City Harvest.

The bill “is nothing short of a catastrophe,” he said.

Parents with children ages 14 to 17

The work rules will also apply to parents who have a child 14 or older. Before, parents were exempt until their kids turned 18.

SNAP recipient Kisha MacAllen, 52, said many jobs don’t pay enough for the city’s high living costs, especially when people are responsible for younger or older relatives.

“ You may have family members who are living in the home who they may have to care for,” she said outside a food distribution event in Brooklyn run by City Harvest.

Noncitizen legal immigrants

Refugees, asylees or victims of human trafficking who aren’t citizens will no longer be eligible for SNAP. That’s about 15,000 people in the city, according to officials.

Low-income New Yorkers getting help on their heating bills

New Yorkers who get help paying their heating bills through the Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, have been getting extra SNAP dollars. That will end, meaning about 480,000 SNAP recipients could lose as much as $200 in benefits a month, officials said.

Homeless individuals

People who are homeless had exemptions to the work rules, but that is also ending under the new law, according to the city and experts.

Veterans

Veterans were exempt from the work rules but will now have to show proof of employment if they are able-bodied.

Young people aging out of foster care

People aging out of the city’s foster care system at 21 years old were previously not required to work to get SNAP benefits. Going forward, they will be.

People with gig jobs, cash pay or inconsistent hours

City officials said it’s not enough to simply be employed to meet the law’s new requirements. SNAP recipients will need to show paperwork proving they are working, volunteering or enrolled in an education program for 80 hours a month.

That could make it difficult for gig workers, those who get paid in cash, and those who have irregular hours because of child care issues or sick relatives to demonstrate compliance.

“It’s not just, ‘Are you employed?'” said Park, the social services commissioner. “It’s, ‘Are you employed in a way that is consistent and well-documented?’ — which are two very different questions.”