Food pantries see long summer lines as New Yorkers lose SNAP benefits in Trump overhaul

The line outside a South Bronx food pantry snaked down the block, across the avenue and down two more blocks on a recent summer day. People began lining up as early as 5 a.m., even though the pantry doesn't open until 10 a.m.

Food pantries across New York City say they’re already seeing an increase in demand as schools that offer free meals close for the summer and gas prices remain stubbornly high. They say they have enough food for now but worry they’ll run out of supplies once more New Yorkers begin losing their benefits under the Trump administration’s changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“Demand's always going to be here, because with the cost of everything going high, food especially, and then with gas, whenever gas goes up, especially in summertime, prices go up,” said Christian Estrada, who runs the pantry and is the food services director for United Bronx Parents, an affiliate of the Acacia Network.

Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump overhauled SNAP last summer. More expansive work rules took effect in New York earlier this year, requiring SNAP recipients between 18 and 64 years old to prove they are working, volunteering or in school in order to keep their benefits. People with a documented disability or medical condition can be exempt from the rules.

City officials haven’t said how many New Yorkers were cut off their SNAP benefits last month as part of the first wave of shutoffs expected under the new work rules. But they have warned that as many as 42,000 people — 40% of whom are men between 18-30 years old — are at risk.

In New Jersey, more than 31,000 people have had their SNAP benefits turned off since May, state officials said.