NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 In one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation, a line stretched along the side of the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen and Pantry.<\/p>\n
Willy Hilaire is homeless, unemployed and 63. He lives in a New York shelter with his two grandchildren and often goes hungry so that they can eat the food he gets from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>, or SNAP. <\/p>\n On many days, Hilaire\u2019s only food is a hot meal he gets from Holy Apostles in Manhattan\u2019s Chelsea neighborhood. With SNAP at risk<\/a>, he worries there won\u2019t be enough for him and the children, forcing more sacrifice.<\/p>\n \u201cI always tell them, \u2018Grandpa is there for you,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018Whatever I have, I\u2019ll give it to you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday<\/a> that President Donald Trump\u2019s administration must continue to fund SNAP, the nation\u2019s biggest food aid program, using contingency funds during the government shutdown. But officials said it was too late to stop recipients from losing benefits on Saturday and that restoring them could likely take at least one week.<\/p>\n Reliance on food aid hits Black people harder<\/p>\n One in eight Americans use SNAP but its halt will disproportionately hurt Black Americans like Hilaire. Black people are 12.6% of the population but more than a quarter of SNAP recipients, the largest overrepresentation of any ethnic or racial group.. Other racial groups get SNAP at rates lower than their overall share of the population.<\/p>\n Historians and advocates say that\u2019s an example of what\u2019s known as systemic racism. There may be no formally racist policy at play but America\u2019s long history of racism \u2014 from slavery to unfair zoning rules \u2014 has left Black communities with a series of structural disadvantages, and far less wealth<\/a> accumulated over generations.<\/p>\n Non-Hispanic white people are 58.1% of the population but just 35.4% of SNAP recipients, the latest data show.<\/p>\n Hispanic people and Asian people are underrepresented in the SNAP statistics. And Native Americans get SNAP at basically the same rate that their group is in the general population. <\/p>\n Asian Americans living in poverty face constraints like lack of English fluency and neighborhood gentrification. In New York City, 253,000 of the 1.5 million Asian residents use SNAP, according to the nonprofit Asian American Federation. Over 91% of them work. But, with limited English proficiency, many are limited in their job opportunities, said CEO Catherine Chen. Families who have lived comfortably in cultural enclaves like Chinatown for one or two generations are getting priced out.<\/p>\n Working, on food aid<\/p>\n A majority of adult SNAP recipients who can work, do. Some still qualify for SNAP \u2014 typically $187 a month \u2014 despite holding down one or more jobs, according to nonprofit advocates. They\u2019re often low-wage jobs without benefits like paid sick days. <\/p>\n A report<\/a> by the National Urban League last year found that the racial income gap has been virtually unchanged for more than 20 years, with Black Americans making 64% of the income of white people, on average. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much discrimination in the work force, so much discrimination in America today, that Black people who were enslaved and segregated for 350 years are still fighting for economic parity,\u201d said Marc Morial, president of the civil rights group. \u201cWhile we have a growing number of African American, middle-class Americans, we still have a disproportionate number of poor (Black) Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n At the current pace, it would take anywhere from one to three centuries for most Black Americans to achieve parity with their white peers, depending on where they live, according to the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility.<\/p>\n Worsening statistics<\/p>\n This year Black unemployment rose from 6.2% to 7.5%,<\/a> the highest level since October 2021. Black homeownership fell to the lowest level in four years, according to an analysis by the real estate brokerage Redfin. The Census Bureau found the median Black household income fell 3.3% last year to $56,020. That\u2019s around $36,000 less than what a white household earns.<\/p>\n The looming absence of grocery dollars would almost certainly make it harder for families to afford rent, gas and other expenses. Even if SNAP benefits are restored before November ends, nonprofit leaders say low-income residents could face financial setbacks into next year. <\/p>\n Tribal nations navigate a web of bureaucracy for food aid<\/p>\n For tribal nations, food and nutrition assistance programs are part of the U.S. government\u2019s trust and treaty responsibilities \u2014 the government\u2019s legal and moral obligations to fund tribes\u2019 health and well-being. The U.S. promised to uphold those rights in exchange for the land and resources it took from Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n However, those rights continue to be chronically underfunded and uniquely vulnerable to government shutdowns<\/a>, according to a report released last week by the Brookings Institution. The study found that in 2024, more than two-thirds of trust and treaty responsibilities were funded through discretionary spending, meaning they are not guaranteed during a shutdown. It also noted that one of the largest sources of mandatory spending owed to tribes comes in the form of SNAP benefits.<\/p>\n