Many politicians and advocates have been working on the issue of immigrant food stamp access since the major welfare reform of 1996. Immigrant access to food stamps has received more attention recently because of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s commitment to ending urban hunger, combined with the council’s “Food Today, Healthy Tomorrow” initiative that aims to enroll 350,000 additional recipients over the next three years. The recent naming of a city food policy coordinator, Benjamin Thomases, should also help the efforts, a Quinn spokesperson said.
HRA spokeswoman Barbara Brancaccio says the agency welcomes the help of outside groups. "We support increased participation, absolutely," said Brancaccio, who also noted that HRA's methodology puts the number of eligible non-participants at less than 500,000. HRA is working to enroll more people, too, she said, through efforts including expanding application centers' hours in the coming months and implementing the pilot program for modernization.
The city has an economic incentive for increasing food stamp enrollment as well. Lagging participation in nutrition programs result in an annual economic loss of $1 billion in federal funding and economic opportunities for the city. According to NYCCAH Executive Director Joel Berg, at least $500 million in food stamp benefits go unused each year as a result of under-enrollment.
Food stamps, in the traditional sense, are a thing of the past. The use of electronic benefit transfers in the form of plastic cards, which function and look like debit cards, has resulted in a more efficient and less stigmatizing form of government assistance. A household of four would be eligible with a net monthly income of $1,613.
Access to these benefits for legal immigrants can be hindered by misinformation and bureaucracy. Many illegal immigrants who qualify for food stamps are often unaware that they are entitled to government assistance. And many legal immigrants incorrectly worry that receiving food stamps could endanger their chances at citizenship. Other barriers to participation include restrictive office hours, language barriers and the disrespect food stamp recipients say they sometimes feel when going to food stamp offices.
