Hochul provides $550G infusion for SUNY food pantries to meet demand amid shutdown
On Wednesday, Day 43 of the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $550,000 in aid for State University of New York community college food pantries and other efforts to help provide food to needy students. The funds will help food pantries at SUNY’s 30 community colleges restock their shelves and support students in need, the governor said in a news release.
“As the consequences of the longest federal government shutdown in history drag on, millions of New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet and facing a food insecurity crisis,” Hochul said.
House members are expected to take a vote on whether to reopen the government this evening.
The governor also has directed the SUNY Empire State Service Corps to help provide food to needy residents. The service corps, described as the state’s largest AmeriCorps program, includes about 500 students at 45 SUNY locations who spend at least 300 hours a year of paid community service, the governor’s office said in a news release earlier this month. SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said hundreds of corps members “answered the call and stepped up to take action against food insecurity.”
In addition, SUNY’s Board of Trustees has required SUNY schools to provide students with information on their websites and at orientations about how they can obtain food and other basic needs.
The state has also allocated an additional $106 million to address what it called a “hunger crisis” in the state, including $40 million for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, which assists food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other providers.
Maura McDermott covers education. Since joining Newsday in 2012, she also has worked on the investigations team and covered real estate and the business of health care.
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