New Data: Federal SNAP Cuts Threaten AAPI and Immigrant Families Food Access Across NYC
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
Date: January 9th, 2026
Contact:
Alice Du, Director of Communications (adu@cpc-nyc.org) | 212-792-4585
New Data: Federal SNAP Cuts Threaten AAPI and Immigrant Families Food Access Across NYC
The Chinese-American Planning Council today released an analysis on impact of federal budget cuts on the food security of AAPI and Immigrant Communities in New York City, HERE.
A Statement from Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) summarizes the report’s findings, and discusses the importance of The Protect, Invest, and Expand Food Security Package, a comprehensive state legislative and budget agenda.
According to analysis from the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), the passage of the federal budget in July 2025 is already having devastating impacts on Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) and immigrant families across New York City.
Data analysis on community members served by CPC shows:
- An estimated 10,000 community members will be impacted by SNAP cuts and eligibility changes with overwhelming numbers from Brooklyn and Manhattan.
- Approximately 2,000 community members will lose their SNAP benefits.
- 3 out of every 4 of our community members on SNAP have an average household income of below $15,000.
- For immigrant families, seniors on fixed incomes, and households with children, these cuts are not abstract budget decisions—they mean skipped meals, increased reliance on food pantries, and impossible choices between groceries, rent, and medicine.
CPC’s briefing also underscores how these federal decisions are overwhelming food pantries and community providers across the city, even as grocery prices remain high and demand for emergency food continues to surge. In the last three months alone, CPC has stood up additional emergency food pantries to serve thousands of additional meals but has seen the food lines double.
New York has both the tools and the responsibility to step in by
- Raising the SNAP minimum benefit
- Protecting households from benefit theft
- Investing in outreach and nutrition programs
- And ensuring food access for immigrant and mixed-status families who have been unjustly excluded.
Without decisive state action, the damage will only deepen. The Protect, Invest, and Expand Food Security Package is a necessary response to a crisis created by Washington’s retreat from its responsibility to keep families fed.
We are deeply grateful to Assembly Members Jessica González-Rojas, Marcela Mitaynes, Khaleel Anderson, Grace Lee, and Yudelka Tapia as well as Senators Michelle Hinchey, Kristen Gonzalez, Zellnor Myrie, and Gustavo Rivera for leading this legislative agenda, and to United Neighborhood Houses (UNH), Food Bank for NYC, United Way of New York City, Hunger Solutions, Feeding NYS, NY Equity Advocates, UJA-Federation, Island Harvest Food Bank, and the Citizens Committee for Children-New York for their partnership and leadership.
All of our commitment, as critical service providers and public servants, sends a powerful message.
We urge state leaders to advance The Protect, Invest, and Expand Food Security Package in this year’s legislative and budget negotiations, because hunger is a policy choice—and so is ending it.