Participation in the Food Stamp Program in the city dropped in October 2006 by 5,039 people, and is now at the lowest level since October 2005, according to data just formally published by the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). Given that the average food stamp benefit in the city is now $112 per person per month, the 5,039-person drop equals an estimated $564,368 reduction in the amount of federal nutrition benefits available to low-income New Yorkers in just one month. If this reduction lasted for an entire year, the amount of lost federal funds would equal nearly seven million dollars.

“Given our recent study proving that hunger and food pantry usage are increasing in the city, it is particularly troubling that, as hungry New Yorkers prepared for the holiday season, the ‘gift’ given to them by the City was even less access to federally-funded nutrition benefits,” said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.

Although the Bloomberg Administration has said that it supports increasing Food Stamp Program participation as a way to help families combat poverty, participation in the city has dropped in four of the past five months, and is now 376,969 people (26%) lower than the peak level of participation in March 1995. That means that both the city’s economy and low-income families now receive approximately $505 million less per year in federal aid to support food purchases than in 1995. Even though participation dropped over the last year in New York City, in the rest of the state outside of the city, from September 2005- September 2006, the number of program participants in the rest of New York State increased by 15,891 people. (State data for October is not yet available.)

Federal law requires that all eligible families receive food stamp benefits within 30 days of the day they originally apply. In 2005, according to HRA’s JobStat reports, City job centers failed to meet this 30 day deadline for food stamps applicants in 8.0% of all cases. In response to a 2005 campaign questionnaire from the Coalition, Mayor Bloomberg said that he would ensure that HRA complied with the 30 day deadline. Yet year-to-date data as of September 2006, recently released by HRA, indicates that the citywide food stamps timeliness rate at job centers has gotten even worse, with the City now missing the 30 day deadline in 19.1% – nearly one in five – of all cases.

Continued Berg, “Mayor Bloomberg often speaks about the importance of having solid data upon which to base decisions. Now that there is clear proof that Food Stamps Program participation is dipping in the City even as it is increasing Statewide and even as hunger is soaring, I hope the Mayor accepts the reality that the City is at fault for placing too many barriers in the way of program access. I hope he directs his new Food Policy Task Force and his new Food Policy Coordinator to make it a top priority to fix this broken program.”