{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Hunger persists across Hudson Valley as food bank holds steady despite SNAP cuts, federal disruptions","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":974,"description":"Hunger remains a daily reality for hundreds of thousands of people across the Hudson Valley, even as food banks struggle to keep pace with rising costs and major federal funding cuts.More than 355,000 people are food insecure across the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York’s 23-county service area, according to the organization. In 2025, the food bank distributed roughly the same amount of food as the year before — an outcome leaders describe as remarkable given the loss of hundreds of truckloads of food tied to USDA and SNAP disruptions.“We had folks who really had no economic means of getting more food, and the food bank had to step up,” said Barry Lewis, spokesperson for the Regional Food Bank, in an interview with WJFF Radio. “Through the generosity of donors and community partners, we were able to attempt to offset as best as we can a lot of those cuts.”Food insecurity rising post-pandemicLewis said food insecurity was already increasing before federal cuts took effect, particularly in the Hudson Valley following the pandemic.“We saw an increase in food insecurity just as the year began,” he said. “In the Hudson Valley alone, we were looking at about an 8% increase.”In Sullivan County, Lewis noted, one in five children is now considered food insecure.“That was before SNAP cuts and the shutdown,” he said. “Then suddenly, in the last three months, people had no safety net.”Across the full service area, Lewis said more than $59 million in monthly SNAP benefits were withheld, representing the loss of roughly 36 million pounds of food per month.“No food bank would be able to offset that type of cut,” he said. “To put it in perspective, we distribute about 54 million pounds of food in an entire year.”Community response fills some gapsLewis said the crisis led to a broader public understanding of how SNAP works — and how quickly families can fall into need.“We saw married couples, both working, but finding that the cost of food, utilities and health care...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}