By: Carl Schwartzbaum -Jewish Voice News

As the federal government shutdown continues to imperil crucial social programs, New York City mayoral candidate Andrew M. Cuomo has pledged to take direct action to prevent hunger among vulnerable families should the impasse in Washington persist past the end of the month.

Speaking at a campaign stop in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn on Friday, Cuomo addressed the federal suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food aid to approximately 42 million Americans each month. The ongoing federal stalemate threatens to halt SNAP disbursements beginning November 1, raising alarm among state and local leaders about the immediate consequences for low-income households already struggling with inflation and high food costs.

In a forceful statement, Cuomo declared that if Congress fails to reach a resolution, he will personally spearhead efforts to raise private funds to keep food pantries stocked across New York City.

“I also want to mention the SNAP funds run out November 1st if they don’t make a deal in Washington,” Cuomo said. “Many families depend on SNAP for food — literally. If they don’t make a deal and the program doesn’t continue, I’m going to help raise money privately for food pantries because we’re not going to let New York go hungry.”

Cuomo’s remarks, delivered before a crowd of supporters and local community advocates, underscore both his political experience and his strategic positioning as a candidate emphasizing pragmatic leadership amid federal dysfunction. The former governor, long known for his crisis-management style, framed the looming expiration of SNAP assistance as an avoidable tragedy caused by partisan paralysis.

Analysts noted that his intervention highlights the deep interdependence between federal social policy and municipal stability. SNAP, a cornerstone of the nation’s anti-hunger infrastructure, distributes billions of dollars annually to low-income households, including hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. Its suspension, even temporarily, would strain the city’s already overextended network of food pantries, soup kitchens, and mutual aid organizations, many of which have faced record demand since the pandemic.

Cuomo’s proposal to mobilize private philanthropy in response to a federal lapse fits within his long-standing pattern of blending public governance with private-sector partnerships. During his governorship, he often sought to bridge budgetary shortfalls with targeted fundraising and corporate collaboration, particularly in moments of fiscal or humanitarian crisis.

For residents of Brighton Beach — a neighborhood with a large immigrant and senior population — the prospect of disrupted SNAP benefits carries immediate and personal stakes. Many in attendance at the campaign stop expressed both gratitude and apprehension, acknowledging Cuomo’s commitment but also lamenting the instability that forces reliance on charity to meet basic needs.

“Food insecurity isn’t an abstraction here,” one local community organizer said after the event. “If SNAP goes down, pantries will be overwhelmed in days.”

With the shutdown now entering its second month and negotiations in Washington stalled, Cuomo’s comments serve as both a local reassurance and a pointed critique of national gridlock. His promise to act, should the federal government fail to, reflects an emerging theme of his campaign: assertive municipal leadership in the face of federal failure.

As the November 1 deadline has passed, the former governor’s words carry a sense of urgency — a reminder that in New York, as in much of America, the consequences of Washington’s inaction will be felt most acutely at the dinner table.