More than 4 million people nationwide have lost their federal food assistance this year. That’s because the Trump Administration cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by more than $200 billion. That’s under changes made in Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Another change is a cost shift. For decades in New York State, the federal government and New York’s counties split the cost of SNAP evenly.
But starting in October, New York counties will have to shoulder more of the financial burden. County officials in the North Country say they can’t afford it.
Richard HallerSNAP cost shift pushes North Country counties into a financial bind
Local impact
New York is one of only three states (along with New Jersey and North Carolina) where counties cover the entire non-federal share of SNAP costs.
Starting in October, counties will have to pay for 75% of the program – that’s up from 50%. That will amount to an additional $168 million annually in New York for administrative costs.
Joseph Seeber, St. Lawrence County’s commissioner of social services, says this will hit the county with an extra $776,00 bill, which will increase to a million the following year.
“It’s a huge impact on an economy in a county like ours. It doesn’t take much. Those ripples in the pond are really big. You know, if you cut $776,000 from New York City’s budget, it’s not a big deal. Take that from us here, and we really have to scramble to figure things out.”
Seeber says that since counties are paying for SNAP benefits, taxpayers will have to foot the bill, which means local property taxes could climb.
“We do our best to be good shepherds of the taxpayer dollars around here and not raise taxes,” Seeber said. “It’s going to be very difficult in the future years, and each year I believe it’s going to get worse exponentially. We’re going to see those impacts going up and up and up, with no end in sight unless something changes.”
Urban Mission’s food pantry in Watertown: Photo: Richard Haller
Counties caught in the middle
Counties are stuck in the middle between a federal government trying to spend less money on SNAP and New York State that’s trying to maintain that safety net.
Offloading the cost of public benefits to counties makes NYS an outlier, says Stephen Acquario, Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties.
“The federal government only works with and through the state of New York, and that’s why this system is broken. County governments are thrust into this position to interface between the population in need and the state of New York and the federal government.”
There’s another factor that could make it even harder for counties to pay for SNAP.
Starting next fiscal year in October 2027, the federal government will penalize states with a higher number of errors or mistakes in distributing food stamps.
New York is one of those states, with an error rate of 13%. The federal government wants it as low as 6%.
Beginning in fall 2027, this error penalty will contribute to New York State having to pay an estimated $1 billion along with direct benefit costs.
Since errors are reported as a state average, every NYS county would have to share the penalty. Acquario says that rural counties in the North Country with fewer resources can’t afford that cost.
“The benefit penalty that looms large could be over $1 billion in impact,” said Acquario. “That is a missile heading right at New York State. Local property taxpayers can in no way, shape, or form absorb the amount of that penalty coming to New York State next fiscal year.”
Map credit: New York Focus. Reporter: Jie Jenny Zou
The Trump Administration says it’s cutting SNAP to eliminate fraud, and it’s long criticized the program for encouraging people to not work. Acquario says this is a false narrative because errors are often honest mistakes, not fraud.
“Tracking the income statements from mom-and-pop or diners or small businesses and whether Mary or Tom missed the shift of reporting at a local diner because they had to get their child or pick up their child from daycare, and they may or may not properly report that diner’s evening wage,” exclaimed Acquario. That’s what we’re talking about here.”
Among the North Country governments impacted, Jefferson County faces the highest cost to cover SNAP benefits in the coming years — estimated at over $1 million. Over in the Southern Adirondacks, Warren County is projecting a $415,000 increase in SNAP costs.
Director of Public Affairs, Don Lehman, says people are already strained because of high costs across the board.
“We’re already pretty fiscally stressed by rising costs for everything,” said Lehman. “I mean health insurance and fuel, electricity. You name it, the costs of everything have gone up, and governments aren’t immune to that, just like our households aren’t immune to it.”
Food insecurity has shot up across the country — by 14% since last year in many North Country counties. That’s because of inflation and higher prices for electricity, gas, utilities, and groceries. Cuts to SNAP are making that worse, with food pantries facing a higher need because of people losing their benefits. SLC Social Services Commissioner Joseph Seeber says he expects 600 people to lose SNAP eligibility in St. Lawrence County.
“Then that places a strain, and we’re already seeing that on food banks,” he said. “You take the homelessness situation, you take people who are no longer on SNAP. You know, a county like St. Lawrence, mostly rural, very spread out, low number of resources; we really need people to pull together in times like this.”
The New York State Association of Counties is pushing New York to provide financial relief to local counties. They’re also urging Congress to pass a two-year delay on the SNAP funding shift. So far, neither effort has been successful.
Related Topics
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