All SNAP Households to Receive Maximum Level Food Benefits this July

By Yehudit Garmaise

All New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive the maximum levels the state allows for food benefits in July, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday. 

All households participating in SNAP, including those who already receive the maximum level of benefits of $835 for a household of four, will receive supplemental payments of at least $95 this month, thanks to the approximately $234 million that the federal government provided to NY’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

SNAP will deliver its additional payments as it usually does: directly to recipients' existing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) accounts, which can be accessed by participants’ existing EBT cards for use at authorized stores. 

Unused SNAP benefits automatically carry over to the following month.

"Far too many New Yorkers are still struggling with food insecurity as a result of the economic tolls from COVID-19," Gov. Hochul said. "These additional food benefits will help hundreds of thousands of households make ends meet each month, while also providing a welcome economic boost to food retailers still recovering from the effects of the pandemic."

"SNAP food benefits are a lifeline for many New Yorkers who can't afford to put food on the table as the price of groceries continue to be inflated," Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado said about the extra benefits that NYC households will receive anytime between tomorrow: July 19, until July 30.

SNAP not only helps New York families in need, but the program also has injected more than $1.2 billion into the state’s still-recovering economy. 

Every federal dollar that SNAP recipients use to re-invest into the New York economy by buying groceries generates up to $1.54 in economic activity, according to a federal study that quantified the SNAP’s ongoing effect on the U.S. economy.