Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, on Food Assistance and Nonprofit Funding
5:27:05
ยท
112 sec
Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, provided testimony focusing on three main points: the issue of late payments to nonprofits, the importance of the federal safety net in fighting hunger, and the need for timely benefit processing and outreach funding.
- Emphasized the urgency of addressing delayed payments to nonprofits, suggesting that government employee pay be tied to nonprofit payment timeliness
- Highlighted that federal safety net programs provide 17 times more food assistance than all charities combined in America
- Advocated for 100% on-time delivery of benefits within the federally mandated 30-day processing period and continued funding for SNAP, WIC, and summer EBT outreach
Joel Berg
5:27:05
Thank you, madam chair.
5:27:06
It's late in the day, so I'll be brief about three points.
5:27:09
One, first of thanks for your incredible leadership continuing on these issues.
5:27:12
But I hope we don't normalize just how crazy the testimony has been over and over and over again about payments that have been late years.
5:27:24
Millions of dollars hold to struggling nonprofits.
5:27:27
The federal government, as evil as it's been lately, when you're in their system, they pay the next day.
5:27:32
You electronically bill.
5:27:33
Let's not normalize this.
5:27:34
Bunch of mayors have, promised to fix this.
5:27:37
A bunch of controllers have threatened to you promised to fix this.
5:27:41
Can we just make people's pay as, government employees contingent upon them paying nonprofits?
5:27:46
They wouldn't go two or three years without being paid.
5:27:49
We shouldn't.
5:27:49
So let's not normalize this too.
5:27:51
I hope everyone understands that, the safety net is still by far the most important thing in terms of fighting hunger.
5:27:58
The Food Bank and City Harvest and Pantries and Kitchens do incredible work filling in the gaps.
5:28:04
But I hope we understand that the federal safety net programs equals 17 times the dollar amounts of food distributed by every charity in New York in America.
5:28:13
So number one, it's good that HRAs had some progress on on time delivery of benefits but it should be a 100%.
5:28:20
The thirty day requirement for processing benefits goes back to 1977 before email, before web.
5:28:27
It is just insane that we continue not to give people benefits within the thirty days required by federal law.
5:28:33
Lastly, hope the council continues to fund the New York City benefits initiative and the request from, Hunger Free America and others to fund SNAP and WIC and summer EBT outreach.
5:28:45
Every dollar we spend of city funds help fill $60 worth of groceries into grocery carts, so it continues to be the single most cost effective way the council can help us fight hunger.
5:28:57
Thank you.