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THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

City Hall

New York,
NY 10007

                                                                                                                                                                            (212) 788-7116

**For Immediate Release**                                                                                                              

August 18, 2009

Contact:
212-788-7116

Speaker Quinn, HRA Commissioner
Doar Announce Over 50,000 Additional New Yorkers Receiving Food Stamps
Following Innovative Outreach Campaign

New York State Conducting Similar Outreach to New Yorkers Losing Unemployment
Benefits

City
Hall, August 18th, 2009 - City Council Speaker Christine C.
Quinn, Human Resources Administration (HRA) Commissioner Robert Doar, Food
Policy Coordinator Benjamin Thomases and nutrition advocates today announced
that one year later over 50,000 additional New Yorkers are now receiving food
stamps, following the Medicaid/Food Stamp data match conducted by the City
Council and HRA since the summer of 2008.  The data match, an initiative
announced by Speaker Quinn in her 2008 State of the City address, identified
households throughout all five boroughs that would likely qualify for food
stamps but were not enrolled. 

HRA completed the data
match in June 2008 and mailed letters to these households beginning in July
2008.  Households received a letter explaining that due to their enrollment in
the Medicaid or Family Health Plus program, they may be eligible for the Food Stamp
Program as well.  The eligibility requirements for Medicaid and food stamp
enrollment have similar criteria.  In addition to the letter, households
received a brochure detailing the Food Stamp Program and providing information
on the application process.  HRA, City Council staff and community
partners provided targeted outreach after letters were sent.

Final results
show that 66,939 people in New York
City who were targeted by the data match applied for
food stamps in the last year.  51,100 of
them – nearly 76% of those who applied – received a food stamp
benefit.  This means that in one month as much as $15 million in additional
federal food stamp aid was spent in local grocery stores throughout the city.

“As we face the worst
recession we’ve seen in decades, more and more New Yorkers are having
trouble putting food on the table,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn.  “And many of those who have
recently lost their jobs are finding themselves in need of financial help for
the first time.  Working with Commissioner Doar and the Bloomberg
administration, we’ve been able to help get tens of thousands of
additional New Yorkers enrolled in food stamps, by identifying those that are
most likely to qualify.  Now we’re working with State leaders to expand
our efforts, and help connect people who are about to lose their unemployment
benefits with critical support services when they need them the most.”

“The Human
Resources Administration has made remarkable progress in ensuring that this important
support for working families and others is more accessible,” said HRA Commissioner Robert Doar. 
“I’m proud of the HRA employees who have worked hard to make the
process of applying for food stamp benefits easier and more convenient for
low-income New Yorkers.”

“The City’s
efforts to simplify the food stamp application process, and to connect more
eligible families with benefits are an important part of our work to promote
access to healthy food for all New Yorkers,” said Food Policy Coordinator Ben Thomases.
“We are also working to give food stamp recipients opportunities and
incentives to use their benefits to purchase fresh fruits and
vegetables.”

Thousands of New Yorkers
from every borough have received food stamps following the data match, including:

• Queens
  – 10,496
• Bronx
  – 10,908
• Manhattan –
  7,955
• Brooklyn
  – 19,717
• Staten
  Island – 2,024

While the Medicaid/Food
Stamp data match has been extremely successful, there may still be New Yorkers
who likely qualify for food stamps, but are not yet receiving them.  HRA
will continue to help those New Yorkers in need of assistance through outreach
and accessibility.

The current recession has
only increased the number of New Yorkers in need of financial assistance.  In
coming months that need is likely to grow, as hundreds of thousands of
Americans begin to run out of their unemployment benefits.  Unless Congress
takes action to extend benefits, many states will begin seeing funding expire
as early as September.  In New
York State,
103,275 people are expected to lose their benefits by the end of December.

In an effort to address
that need, the Speaker has continued working with agencies on both the state
and local level.  Under
the leadership of Governor David A. Paterson, and at the urging of Speaker Quinn,
the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and the State
Department of Labor (DOL) are working together to make sure New Yorkers are
aware of other benefits that may be available to them while they are out of
work. Unemployed individuals may qualify for a number of additional benefits,
including Food Stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Home Energy Assistance
Program, public health insurance and various emergency grants.  OTDA and DOL
are doing targeted outreach and marketing, directing individuals to the
State’s mybenefits website, and the City’s accessnyc website, which
offer prescreening tools and applications.

Anyone facing the loss of
unemployment insurance benefits, and even those collecting unemployment, should
visit OTDA’s web site, myBenefits.ny.gov <http://www.mybenefits.ny.gov/>, for more information about the assistance that
may be available to them. An e-government hub for human services,
mybenefits.ny.gov allows New Yorkers to connect with a range of benefits and
services for which they may be eligible.

“OTDA is committed to Governor
Paterson's goal of helping struggling New Yorkers make ends meet in these
difficult economic times and helping them achieve economic security,”
said Kristin Proud, Governor Paterson's
Deputy Secretary for Human Services, Technology and Operations, who
is currently overseeing OTDA. “n particular, our Working Families Food
Stamp Initiative has made it easier for those eligible to access food stamp
benefits, resulting in all-time high enrollment in New York State.
We are also pleased that Speaker Quinn and members of the City Council are
continuing to do all they can to help these families.”

“Since the
inception of the Speaker’s innovative Food Today, Healthy Tomorrow program,
I have been to schools, food pantries, supermarkets and bodegas throughout my
district to spread the message of the importance of good nutrition and to
inform my constituents of the many programs and opportunities available through
the City,” said Council Member Sara
Gonzalez.   “The approach of matching Medicaid recipients with
food stamp enrollment databases has proven beneficial to all of Brooklyn and District 38 in particular.  This will also benefit
our local economy by increasing federal dollars spent at our local stores.”

“We are so grateful
to Speaker Quinn and Commissioner Doar for their successful efforts in
providing access to additional income supports, specifically those of food
stamp enrollment, to populations in need,” said Bishop Mitchell Taylor, President/CEO of COHI/ERDA
Bread of Life Food Pantry in Long Island City.  “At ERDA, we have seen a
substantial increase in demand for all of our services to public housing
residents in Western Queens, and our paperless food stamp enrollment program,
conducted in conjunction with HRA, NYCCAH, and Food Change, is no
exception.  In the current economic climate, it is not enough to simply
offer a service; targeted outreach is key. The data match program has made great
strides in identifying New Yorkers in low-income communities who may qualify
for an array of income supports.”

“At a time of skyrocketing unemployment, this work truly helps
put food on the table for more than 1.5 million New Yorkers.  As we have
seen in our own work, it is partnerships like these that generate the most
innovative and effective ideas for connecting people to the resources to which
they are entitled,” said Dr. Lucy
Cabrera, President & CEO of the Food Bank For New York City,
which provides food stamp information and application assistance to over 25,000
New Yorkers annually.  “The Food Bank is proud to stand with Speaker
Quinn, Commissioner Doar, the City’s Food Policy Coordinator and everyone
here to recognize this accomplishment.”

“Finding people who
are eligible for entitlements but not receiving them is of paramount
importance, especially during these tough economic times,” said Ellen Rautenberg, President & CEO of Public Health
Solutions.  “The data match between the Medicaid and Food
Stamp registries is a terrific use of technology and one that will lead to
increased numbers of people getting the support that they so badly need to get
enough food on the table for their families.  Public Health Solutions is
excited about this updated information, as it will enable us to increase our
efforts in certain neighborhoods to ensure that eligible households obtain
public health insurance coverage and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) benefits, thereby maximizing their own ability to become or remain
economically self-sufficient.”

“Matching up people
who are already receiving health benefits with people who also are eligible for
nutrition benefits but not currently getting them is a common-sense,
cost-effective approach to getting food help to people who need it,” Said
Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York
City Coalition Against Hunger.

The City Council and
community based organizations have partnered with the City on many initiatives
to improve access to the Food Stamp Program. To that end, HRA has provided
training and created technology to enable 37 community based organizations,
including food pantries and soup kitchens throughout New York City, to submit applications and
required documents online to local food stamp offices. These partnerships allow
individuals to apply in convenient, customer-friendly neighborhood
organizations, which typically maintain extended hours. The sites target
underserved communities and working families, allowing them to apply for food
stamps in non-work-hours. 

HRA has also increased
enrollment through a shortened application created by the State; provided
up-to-date informational materials online for recipients and community based
organizations; implemented telephone recertification for working families;
mail-in recertification for Supplemental Security Income recipients and
eligible seniors and translated materials into nine languages.

### Which Businesses Will
Be Eligible for HealthWorks?•Small businesses in Brooklyn, Manhattan or Queens.•Must have 2-50
employees.•30% of those employees must earn at or below $36,500.

Contact:

Council – Anthony Hogrebe – 212-788-7157

HRA – Barbara
Brancaccio – 212-331-4990