The Government of New York has passed legislation establishing a state-wide Restaurant Meals Program as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP on October 4, 2021.
Key highlights of the legislation are:
- The legislation mandates the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to apply for USDA approval to authorize the program, which would allow homeless, elderly and disabled SNAP recipients to use their benefits for prepared or hot food from participating restaurants.
- A $25 million Restaurant Resiliency Program, proposed by the legislature, has been launched to provide relief to the restaurant industry, which continues to face severe challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide funding to New York’s network of food banks and emergency food providers to purchase prepared meals from New York restaurants and deliver them to families in need.
- Emergency food providers will work directly with restaurants who are deemed eligible for the program by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
*Tanvi Singh, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.