March 4, 2016 – Getting enough to eat is about to get harder for 45,000 New Yorkers, unless changes are made in Washington, D.C.
Called the Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) provision, it targets nondisabled adult SNAP recipients between the ages of 18 and 49 who do not have minor children or other dependents in their home. This provision specifically targets ABAWDs who are unemployed.
As of January 1, 2016, individuals receiving SNAP who meet the ABAWD criteria are subject, upon the loss of a job, to a time limit of three months to find a new job of at least 20 hours per week – or, if available, participate in a state-approved employment and training program or volunteer (workfare) program – in order to preserve their benefits. This three-month limit is less than half the average length of unemployment in the US today, making this provision especially arbitrary and punitive.
While New York State has requested and received partial waivers for counties and cities that continue to experience high and sustained unemployment, it is estimated that 45,000 low-income New Yorkers will lose their SNAP benefits in 2016, resulting in the lost of more than 26 million meals.
We can’t afford to lose the support that SNAP provides. SNAP is our nation’s first line of defense against hunger. In New York City alone, SNAP enables more than $250 million in food spending every month. However, research shows that, among New York City residents who rely on emergency food, 40 percent receive SNAP benefits that are insufficient to last the month. And when individuals and families who rely on these benefits lose them, they are not easily replaced.