The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance this week announced that New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will receive a 15% increase to their monthly food benefits for January through June. In addition, all households will receive the maximum monthly benefit for January under the emergency food assistance that has been issued since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

“The pandemic has caused immeasurable economic hardship for so many New Yorkers and this additional assistance will help people continue to feed themselves and their families,” Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Mike Hein said. “This temporary increase in benefits will bring some measure of relief to vulnerable New Yorkers as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times.”

For January, SNAP recipients will receive the additional 15 percent as a separate issuance that will be distributed starting in mid-January and continue through the end of the month. The federal legislation authorizing the increase was not approved in time to include the additional amount as part of the regular benefits for SNAP, which is administered by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance .

Additionally, emergency assistance will be issued to any SNAP household that does not ordinarily receive the maximum allowable benefit per month, which will be $234 for an individual and $782 for a family of four over the next six months. The emergency assistance supplement will be distributed along with the additional 15% for those who are eligible. About half of all households receiving SNAP in New York will receive the emergency benefits for January.