New York's food assistance benefits system down for 11 hours Sunday due to vendor switch

New York residents seeking to buy groceries with their government food assistance benefits this Sunday morning may have to wait.

Due to system changes, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program users will not be able to use their New York Electronic Benefits Transfer cards to purchase food, or use a mobile app and client portal from 12:01 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday, though actual outage times may vary. People who receive Temporary Assistance benefits will also experience the expected disruption, state officials said Wednesday.

That’s because New York’s EBT system is changing to a new contractor, which is required by law because the existing vendor contract has expired and can’t be extended, officials said.

Ahead of the Sunday change, some state officials are urging residents to plan.

“I urge all EBT cardholders to do their shopping and make cash withdrawals ahead of time, so they will not be inconvenienced during this brief switch over,” Barbara Guinn, acting commissioner of the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, said in a  statement.

Once the update is completed, people may use their same EBT card and PIN, the statement read. However, they’ll need to use the new ebtEDGE app and client portal.

The portal lets cardholders change their PIN, freeze and unfreeze cards and monitor transactions, officials said.

To find out when the EBT system is functioning again, residents can check otda.ny.gov or call 888-328-6399 on Sunday.

More information about the transfer can be found at otda.ny.gov and mybenefits.ny.gov.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.