For the Thanksgiving holiday, Governor Andrwe Cuomo of New York decided to restore money that was cut by the federal government that was earmarked for assistance for those less fortunate. The amount that will be restored is $4.5 million and will help those who provide food to the needy to be able to help those out who cannot afford a Thanksgiving dinner, as well as be able to help them out with the regular food banks, which help many people when they simply cannot make their food stamps stretch far enough, or run into an unexpected problem where they don’t have enough food, and need a food bank to supplement.
Cuomo talked about his policy of helping New Yorkers get food. “With the holiday season upon us, New York State is stepping up to help food banks and soup kitchens across the state stock their shelves and feed those in need.” The food stamp cut came after the federal government cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by 5%, which comes to about $300 million just in New York. It also affects a huge number of New Yorkers, estimated at 3.1 million. The $4.5 million that Cuomo earmarked will help those that are in need with about 2.8 million meals, which will be served by food banks that serve various areas of New York.
Each food bank on the list is going to receive a part of the $4.5 million. This will hopefully help to make up the five percent that was cut from the Food Stamps Program. For example, the Food Bank of the Southern Tier will get $182,285 and Delaware Opportunities will receive $17,793, each depending upon their needs, how many people they serve and other factors. This is a 15% increase to the program, and is being called holiday season grants. 46 food organizations will receive the money and that will go to 2600 food banks all over the state.
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