At Bronx Community College, the Fall 2020 Food Pantry Distribution Kick-off was held on Thursday, September 10 with an official schedule of Food Pantry Distribution dates and times. “Due to COVID-19, we’ve had to make some slight changes as to how the distributions will take place on campus,” the college announced via their social media platforms, adding that distributions would be conducted by appointment only this fall.

 

In addition, Governor Cuomo also directed the OTDA to seek permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer a simplified application for SNAP benefits in an effort to encourage greater enrollment among eligible elderly or disabled individuals. SNAP applicants on a fixed income or with limited financial resources can complete a single sheet application, front and back, which will greatly reduce the amount of time and effort required to apply or re-certify for benefits.

 

According to the OTDA, although New Yorkers lead the rate of SNAP participation nationally among adults aged 60 or older, or those who are disabled, their rate of participation is still lower than New York State’s overall average SNAP participation rate. New York’s overall participation in SNAP among all eligible people is about 93 percent.

However, only about 70 percent of eligible New York seniors and disabled New Yorkers are enrolled to receive benefits, which is significantly lower than the overall New York State participation rate. Nationally, New York’s participation rate among eligible individuals older than 60 is much higher than most other states, and also higher than the national average participation rate of about 42 percent.

As the rate of SNAP participation among the state’s seniors is lower than the rate of participation for all New Yorkers, it means that there are eligible seniors who aren’t participating in the program who could be. These seniors are encouraged to apply under the new shortened application process.

One leading reason proposed for this lower participation is the length and complexity of the application forms to apply for SNAP. The regular application includes nine pages of questions and information geared at determining a household’s eligibility. Because many elderly and disabled individuals live on fixed incomes and generally experience far fewer household changes, much less information is required to verify their eligibility and calculate benefits.

 

In his 2018 State of the State address, the Governor announced a five-point plan to combat hunger for students in kindergarten through college. As part of that plan, the Governor tasked SUNY and CUNY with the establishment of physical food pantries on campus or stigma-free access to free food, which was completed that year.

 

At SUNY, in addition to the expansion of and access to food pantries, a task force helped establish and grow innovative intervention programs on campuses, including mobile food trucks, local farm crop sharing, a subsidized on campus grocery store, and programming that allows students to “pay” a campus parking ticket in food donations to an on-campus pantry.

 

Meanwhile, the Healthy CUNY program employs a multifaceted approach to address food insecurity on CUNY campuses. To date, food pantries or food vouchers are available at 18 CUNY two and four-year campuses.

 

Following the latest announcement, CUNY Chancellor, Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, said, “I applaud Governor Cuomo for prioritizing the growing problem of food insecurity. We have long known the grave impact of this scarcity on student retention and success, and it is magnified in this time of pandemic.

 

Meanwhile, Office for the Aging Acting Director, Greg Olsen, said, “These important actions announced today by Governor Cuomo build upon previous success that will make it easier for older New Yorkers to receive much needed benefits to combat hunger and food insecurity. Food is medicine, and the one-page simplified SNAP application will help thousands of older adults access hundreds of dollars a month in benefits that will help them make ends meet and improve their health.”