City Council Reaches Out To New Yorkers Eligible For Food Stamps
July 24, 2008
Council Speaker Christine Quinn and city leaders are getting the word out about food stamps. To the 600,000 New Yorkers who qualify for food stamps, but don't currently use them.
The state has now made it easier for working poor families to apply for the program, which can provide up to $200 a month for groceries, and the city is sending out letters letting families know they are eligible and how to apply.
The first round were sent out to 200,000 households in Queens, where the largest number eligible residents live.
"Getting someone enrolled in food stamps means one, they're going to have more resources to feed themselves and their family, but two, it also means New Yorkers are going to get a federal benefit that is their right," said Quinn.
Letters will be sent out to the remaining boroughs in the next four months.
Meanwhile, the number of people across the state using food stamps is nearly two million, 60 percent of whom live in New York City.
Hard financial times, layoffs and rising food and fuel costs are all being blamed for the jump in numbers.
Data show 1.8 million New Yorkers now use food stamps to pay for basic groceries. That's an increase of 30,000 adults and children in the last two years and a jump of more than 50,000 since 2001.
July 24, 2008
City Council Reaches Out To New Yorkers Eligible For Food Stamps
Ruschell Boone
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