Videos: Interviews Regarding The Emergency SNAP Money From The Beacon Farmer's Market and the City of Beacon

This article is a roundup of the video interviews we did with the Farmer’s Market and the City of Beacon. During that time, things were moving so fast, ALBB’s content only made it to Instagram. Below, please find those write-ups and accompanying videos.

How The Beacon Farmer’s Market Converts SNAP Money into Farmer’s Market Money Currency

Today we look at the SNAP program at the Beacon Farmer’s Market which is run by Common Ground Farm. Taking us through the process of converting SNAP (aka Food Stamp) dollars is Amy Bandolik, the Market Manager for the Beacon Farmer’s Market. Not only can SNAP dollars be spent here, but they are doubled with assistance from:

➕ The New York State Fresh Connect $2 card program that helps give people access to farm fresh produce and farmers receiving revenue from SNAP.

➕ Greens4Greens $5 cards program from funds raised from their Soup4Greens annual fundraiser, and right now during this federal government shutdown. Donations are being accepted right now for SNAP recipients - and anyone in need - at the Managers Tent in the market or online.

Amy walks us through what happens when the SNAP card is run for $10, and how it multiplies the money exchange The SNAP card gets filled up, so with it not getting filled up, the market continues to make it work by honoring those with cards - and those in need who might not have cards or never applied - with the base amount and these additional dollars.

Thank you for your support. The market is busy today and people are donating. Come in for assistance if you need it. Don’t be shy.

Thank you to all of ALBB’s sponsors and readers who donate to us to make our reporting possible. Producing independent media is our full time job 🥰

New York States Drops More Dollars For Anyone In Need - Available At The Beacon Farmer’s Market

📣 BREAKING NEWS: New York State has sent additional $2 Fresh Direct Coupons to those in need. Not just SNAP recipients, but those in need. Amy, the Market Manager for Beacon Farmer’s Market received these additional $2 Fresh Direct coupons 💸 to her mailbox yesterday.

Here’s How It Works:

If you are in need for your food situation, you can come to the Manager’s Table each week from November to December 2025 to pick up:

• $20 in Fresh Connect coupons. This can buy you meat, produce, other qualifying foods from the vendors at the Beacon Farmer’s Market.

- plus -

• $30 Greens4Greens from Beacon Farmers Market fundraiser. People have been donating, and this is what the money turns into. Emergency food money for those in need. You can even buy coffee beans and pastries with these at the market.

Both available each week November-December 2025. No verification required. There is an income qualifying table, but New York State has granted that if you state you are in need, you will be provided for.

How the City of Beacon Distributed Their $50,000 of Emergency SNAP Grocery GIft Cards

Here on this very windy Sunday at the Beacon Farmers Market with Heidi Harrison of Beacon Parks and Recreation Department, handing out their Emergency SNAP Grocery Card Distribution initiative to SNAP Receipts who are Beacon residents. The City’s offering to SNAP recipients living in Beacon is $50 for the Farmers Market or $60 Grocery Gift Card for Key Food Beacon. Bring Photo ID, piece of mail as proof of residency, and SNAP Card to pick up.

This is a one-time emergency distribution so far. One per name on the SNAP list for Beacon residents. Find Heidi next to the Beacon Farmer’s Market Managers Tent to pick up your Gift Card if you haven’t yet. One per household right now.

Here today for added convenience, but only today. Coupons or Cards are available for pickup during the weekdays at the Beacon Parks and Recreation Office at 23 West Center Street.

SNAP Recipients: Go pick up! They have your name already, so you’re all set. There are 80 people who still need to pick up their card. No re-application necessary.

Food Stamp Crisis: City of Newburgh Approves $100,000 SNAP Dollars; Middletown Approves $10,000 SNAP Dollars

Food Stamps, otherwise known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) are scheduled to end on Saturday, November 1st, 2025, a presidential administration-made crisis due to the federal government shutdown resulting from the inability to agree on cuts to Medicaid and access to health care. The federal government has placed blame on a governmental party, where such politicizing is allegedly illegal according to the Hatch Act. Further psychologically harming individuals reliant on SNAP, the presidential administration has published baiting language on the SNAP application page that says: “the well has run dry.”

According to reporting from CBS, the SNAP program has $5.5 billion in a contingency fund, according to Bobby Kogan, Senior Director of Federal Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress, that the 47th presidential administration is refusing to release.

Local food justice organizations have been preparing for this moment, and local municipalities are stepping up. First to announce direct dollars going to SNAP recipients was Middletown, who has approved a reallocation of $10,000 federal funding already secured for other purposes to provide short-term emergency relief, Blaise Gomez reported. “Mayor Joseph DeStefano called it a necessary, transparent use of existing funds ‘to act quickly, responsibly, and compassionately,’ while the city pursues additional public and private support to expand the effort,” she reported. This will reach approximately 200 Middletown families, with details on distribution, eligibility and guidelines to be posted soon.

Next, the City of Newburgh authorized $100,000 from their already secured federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to people enrolled in SNAP, Blaise reported. In a proposal by Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos, Midhudson News reported, the City of Newburgh will give $150 grocery gift cards to approximately 700 households that are currently enrolled in SNAP. The newspaper reports that “priority will go to families and seniors at highest risk of food insecurity, with eligibility and distribution details to be released in the coming days.”

City of Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey said of the root of the blockage of SNAP: “This shutdown is a direct result of full-grown adults in Washington, D.C. failing to fulfill the one job that they were sent to do, to serve the people. Every elected official is bound by duty to put the needs of the citizens first, and yet here we are facing the fallout of their incompetence and their willingness to stand idly by while countless family members suffer.”

For those not yet familiar with Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), that is money that can be used for income-level qualifying areas. In Beacon, for example, grant monies have gone to infrastructure upgrades like sidewalk replacements in neighborhoods that meet the income level requirements, like the multi-year sidewalk replacement along South Avenue at South Davies Terrace and Loopers Court.

“Newburgh officials say they are also exploring partnerships and donations to grow their program. Local businesses, community groups, and donors interested in contributing to Newburgh’s emergency fund can contact the City Manager’s Office at (845) 569-7301,” Midhudson News reports.

Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos called Washington’s actions “cruel and disgusting.” She cited that 19,000 households in Orange County are using SNAP food stamps currently. She said in the City and Town of Newburgh, 7,200 people rely on SNAP benefits.

Mayor Lee Kyriacou Proposes To Aid Beacon's SNAP Recipients With Gift Cards To Local Grocers Via 2025 Budget Amendment

On Wednesday evening, as Saturday’s upcoming stoppage of federal funding of the SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) grows nearer, Beacon’s Mayor Lee Kyriacou proposed providing gift cards from local grocers to Beacon residents who are currently receiving SNAP benefits.

In a statement on Mayor Lee’s Facebook page, that was first announced on the City of Beacon’s page, he said: “Today I announced that I will propose to amend the 2025 Budget at the next City Council meeting to authorize funding for emergency food assistance to Beacon residents who are losing federal benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“I directed City staff to quickly develop a program in cooperation with local grocers to provide gift cards to Beacon residents who currently receive SNAP benefits. If approved by the City Council, the program would be rolled out in the days following the approval, and further details and updates will be provided.”

The next City Council Meeting on Monday is public, where the general public can make Public Comment and the City Council can vote on proposed resolutions. This marks an uncommon move to add a proposed resolution to the official voting agenda within the week of the agenda being created, and then voted on by City Council to adopt or not that evening. Hence, the emergency funding.

The City Council is currently discussing and debating the proposed budget for 2026, as they do every October for a vote by December.