Lost SNAP under the new federal work rules? NYC is pushing 26,500 people to reapply now

New York City is stepping up outreach to roughly 26,500 residents who lost their SNAP food benefits under expanded federal work requirements, urging them to reapply now that a once-every-three-years reset has cleared their records, City Hall said.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the effort as a "boots-on-the-ground approach" in an interview published Monday by the Bronx Times, saying the consequences for New Yorkers are significant.

Why people can reapply now

Under the federal budget law President Donald Trump signed last year, the government on March 1 expanded SNAP work requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents, so thousands of New Yorkers who had been exempt had to start documenting work or training, according to the mayor's office. Beginning in June, people who missed the requirement for three months began losing benefits, City Hall said.

New York tracks those rules in three-year windows. The last one ran from Oct. 1, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2026, and a new one began Oct. 1, according to Hunger Solutions New York. That means people who were cut off can apply again, or ask to be re-added to a household's existing case, and receive SNAP for at least three more months if they are otherwise eligible, Gothamist and Hunger Solutions New York reported.

How to reapply or get an exemption

• Call: 718-SNAP-NOW (718-762-7669), the city's help line for people who lost SNAP or think they qualify for an exemption.
• Online: the ACCESS HRA app or nyc.gov/AccessHRA. Statewide, applications also go through MyBenefits.ny.gov, according to Hunger Solutions New York.
• Exemptions: the city says it is helping recipients document medical and caregiver exemptions.

Those who must comply can do so by working at least 20 hours a week (80 hours a month), joining an approved job training or education program for the same hours, volunteering with an approved organization, or taking part in other qualifying activities such as approved job searches, according to the mayor's office.

Who lost benefits

Department of Social Services Commissioner Erin Dalton said most of the 26,500 who lost benefits were young men without children. The city says 1.6% of SNAP households lost benefits. Gothamist reported that a majority of those who did not meet the rules were between 18 and 30, and Dalton told the outlet that young people are traditionally harder to reach.

City Hall says its outreach since January, including 10,000 doors knocked and 40,000 phone calls by the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit, helped more than 220,000 people at risk of losing SNAP keep it and preserved more than $800 million in food assistance. Earlier awareness campaigns ran on bus shelters, LinkNYC kiosks and city radio. The new push adds flyers, ads and social media, the Bronx Times reported, and leans on more than 100 community organizations that offer volunteer and training slots that count toward the requirement.

The Bronx angle

The Bronx Times noted that more than 20% of Bronx residents are food insecure, citing 2022 Feeding America data, and that the city is preparing to open its first city-run grocery store in Hunts Point. Separately, the Bronx qualifies for an exemption from the new Medicaid work requirements because of its unemployment rate, as we reported last week. The federal changes have also hit neighborhood stores; read our earlier look at what SNAP cuts mean for NYC bodegas.