In mid December, Melody Yang, an entitlement benefits specialist at the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), received an unexpected request from one of her Chinese clients. “Can you withdraw my SNAP application?” the woman asked.
Yang had helped her file the application less than two weeks ago. The client is a U.S. citizen and fully eligible for benefits. But fear had set in.
According to Yang, the woman was worried that receiving food assistance could jeopardize her husband’s immigration status. The fear – slowly growing amid immigrant communities – stems from the chilling effect of a proposed public charge rule under the Trump administration, which could penalize immigrants deemed likely to depend on government benefits.
Advocates say cases like this are becoming more common, as immigrant families navigate a mix of policy uncertainty, rising costs, and gaps in the social safety net.
On March 14, also known as Pi Day, more than 50 immigrant residents, advocates, and policymakers gathered at CPC’s office near Chinatown to warn of rising hunger and urge state leaders to pass the Protect, Invest, and Expand (PIE) Food Security Package in the final state budget, prioritizing hunger prevention and food access.
According to the New York State Council on Hunger and Food Policy, about 1 in every 7 New Yorkers reported a lack of reliable access to sufficient food from 2022 to 2024 – a statistically significant increase from 2019 to 2021— amounting to roughly 300,000 additional households struggling to get enough to eat. The agency attributes the growing food insecurity crisis to low wages, unemployment, and the high cost of living, compounded by recent challenges such as federal shutdowns and shifts in long-term federal policies.
The proposal aims to protect SNAP and cash assistance recipients from benefit theft by transitioning EBT cards to chip technology; investing in hunger prevention programs such as Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP), Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP), Double Up Food Bucks and Nourish New York, and expanding access to food assistance by increasing the SNAP minimum benefit and supporting newly excluded immigrants, refugees and mixed-status families.
For immigrant New Yorkers, especially mixed-status families, the urgency of passing the package is growing. The Migration Policy Institute estimated that in New York, 46% of people in low-income households with mixed immigration-status eligibility participated in SNAP in 2019.
Marcos Reyes Sanchez, a youth advocate at CPC, said federal cuts and uncertainty around benefits would change how his family of six, which includes immigrants from Mexico, eats. He said some family members live with diabetes and anemia, requiring fresh and iron-rich foods. But those foods are increasingly out of reach.
“As a brother of two little girls, I feel a clear duty to speak because their future and well-being [is] at risk with these cuts,” Sanchez said. “I have to look into their eyes … and explain to them why the fresh food they come to enjoy has been replaced by what we can afford, not what they need. I can skip meals so my sisters can eat, I can handle hunger, but it shouldn’t be that way,” he added.
The plan includes significant increases in state funding for anti-hunger programs compared to FY2025 levels, as demand continues to grow. The NOEP would rise to $8.5 million, a roughly 52% jump, while Double Up Food Bucks would triple to $6 million. The HPNAP would increase to $75 million, up about 30%, and Nourish New York would also reach $75 million, marking an approximately 38% increase. The package also proposes new statewide reporting requirements to better track hunger and unmet needs, helping inform future investments.
Additionally, the proposal seeks to expand food assistance to populations excluded from federal programs. It would raise the SNAP monthly minimum benefit from $24 to $100, at an estimated cost of $100.1 million, and invest $244 million to support immigrant households, including newly excluded refugees, asylees, and mixed-status families.
Advocates say these measures are critical as federal support shrinks and demand for emergency food continues to rise.
Iliana Ramirez, the associate vice president at United Way of New York City, a nonprofit helping low-income New Yorkers make ends meet and lead self-sufficient lives, said food pantry visits in New York reached 47 million last year, an 87% increase since before the pandemic. “Programs like HPNAP and Nourish New York are the backbone of the state’s emergency food network,” Ramirez said. “Yet HPNAP funding has remained largely flat since 2018, even as food prices, transportation costs and demand for food pantries have surged.”
But even for those enrolled in SNAP, access to food is not guaranteed.
Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes said EBT card theft has become a major driver of food insecurity. “SNAP skimming is stealing food directly from the tables of families across New York,” Mitaynes said. “Parents, seniors, and working people are being forced to stand at grocery store registers with empty carts because their benefits were stolen through no fault of their own.” The SNAP thefts are largely driven by EBT card skimming, an unfortunately common and widespread form of card fraud.
Fok Lor Ng, 71, a resident in Chinatown, experienced that firsthand. In December, he went to a Chinatown supermarket on the day his monthly benefits arrived, only to find his account empty. About $900 had been stolen hours earlier.
“I was so shocked,” Ng said in Mandarin. “I had to cut my food budget, buy less meat that month just to make ends meet.” He also gave up plans to buy winter clothes.
Assemblymember Mitaynes noted that in December 2024, federal relief for SNAP theft victims ended, leaving many without a way to recover stolen benefits.
你知道吗？非公民办理驾照时的这个错误可能会导致选民欺诈
Mohammad Shahid, whose SNAP benefits were stolen twice last year, said he has stopped using his EBT card altogether. “That was not my fault,” he said. “But I’m the one suffering, and no help is offered.”
According to the proposed package, lawmakers are calling for EBT cards to transition to more secure chip technology to curb rising theft, along with the creation of a compensation fund for SNAP and cash assistance recipients who lose benefits to fraud. Between Aug. 23, 2023, and June 30, 2025, the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which administers SNAP in New York, paid $51.8 million in reimbursements to SNAP theft victims.
Wayne Ho, president and CEO of CPC, said the stakes extend beyond individual families. “The Protect, Invest, and Expand Food Security Package is about making sure our neighbors don’t fall through the cracks,” Ho said. “We urge state leaders to ensure these investments are preserved and strengthened in the final adopted budget.”
