September 29, 2025

Dear Community Partner,

The current Federal Appropriations and Spending Act authorizes funding for Federal government operations through September 30, 2025. If no new funding legislation is passed and signed into law authorizing continued spending by midnight on October 1, 2025, the federal government will effectively shut down. In the event that this happens, we are sharing the below information regarding SNAP benefits.

Current clients will continue to receive benefits uninterrupted through the end of October:

We have received guidance from the State OTDA that the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has advised states that a Federal government shutdown will not immediately impact SNAP benefits in New York State. SNAP households will continue to receive SNAP benefits on a normal schedule through the end of October 2025.

SNAP offices will remain open and new applications will be accepted:

The local SNAP offices operated by the New York City Department of Social Services will remain open. New applications will continue to be accepted online through ACCESS HRA and at SNAP centers during a shutdown.

EBT cards will continue to work normally:

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards will continue to work normally, and you can be used at any participating retailer or farmers market. SNAP benefits are available on EBT cards for 274 days from the date they are issued. To check the available benefits on a SNAP account, clients can visit the state OTDA website at ebtEDGE.com or by calling 1-888-328-6399.

Clients need to continue to comply with all SNAP related guidance/requirements:

SNAP compliance requirements will remain in place during a potential shutdown, and clients are still required to comply with recertification deadlines, complete periodic reports, report changes and respond to requests for information from DSS.

Summer EBT benefits are not impacted:

Summer EBT benefits will also continue to remain available for 122 days from the date of issuance. For more information visit: Summer EBT.

If a shutdown continues beyond October, there has been no federal guidance on the potential impact on SNAP benefits. We will continue to keep you updated on future updates as soon as they become available.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership, and for all that you do every day to help New Yorkers in need.

Sincerely,

Office of Community Outreach

NYC Department of Social Services