New York declares state of emergency to help food banks in shutdown

New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, has declared a state of emergency to raise $65m to help food banks as federal funding for the national food stamps program is set to expire on Saturday due to the government shutdown.

The move comes after Oregon and Virginia also declared emergencies to make funds available to cover the anticipated short fall in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), which provides food aid to nearly 42 million people.

New York receives nearly $650m a month in federal funding for Snap benefits, according to Department of Agriculture figures.

Oregon governor Tina Kotek on Wednesday pledged $5m to food banks and declared a 60-day food security emergency. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin has said the state will draw on surplus funds to pay for up to a month of Snap benefits.

The declarations come amid an ongoing standoff between the Trump administration and the Republicans, on one side, and the Democrats, over a federal government funding package. Neither Congress nor the White House has acted to fund November Snap benefits, which cost around $8bn a month.