Wu made the announcement as millions of Americans, and more than 1 million in Massachusetts, stood to lose access to SNAP benefits amid an ongoing federal government shutdown.
Shortly after the announcement, two federal judges ruled that President Trump’s administration must continue to fund SNAP using contingency funds during the shutdown.
“At a time of intense and entirely preventable need, the President of the United States is using hunger as a political tool,” Wu said earlier at the news conference. “In our city, food isn’t a bargaining chip, it’s a human right. . . . We know we can’t close the entire gap, but we will do everything in our power to get support to folks who need it.”
About 143,000 Boston residents, or 92,000 households, could be impacted by a SNAP freeze, according to the city. Wu and other city officials on Friday emphasized residents in need can seek out more information about where they can get support, and what resources the city and nonprofits are making available, online.
Elected officials from Boston and surrounding cities, along with nonprofit leaders also encouraged the public to donate to the city- and The Boston Foundation-funded effort or their local food banks Friday.
“There is no excuse for this administration to abandon families who rely on SNAP or food stamps,” said Lee Pelton, president of The Boston Foundation. “It will require all of us to live up to our shared responsibility to care for and support our neighbors, especially children in this time of critical need.”
Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper said that 70 percent of BPS families rely on some sort of state or federal aid, and said the potential lapse of SNAP benefits would be “catastrophic for our families and for our kids.”
She emphasized that BPS students are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch at school every day, and that families can also access after-school meals at 64 sites across the city. BPS families can reach out to the district’s helpline to be connected with additional resources.
“In the pandemic, we saw how important our schools were and cities were in providing food to our families. That’s when food insecurity really became at a height visible,” Skipper said. “This is not a pandemic. This is a self-created crisis.”
Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang said the city and the Cambridge Community Foundation have also each allocated $250,000, for a total of $500,000, to go to Cambridge food pantries.
A portion of that will support the eight food pantries that make up the Cambridge Food Pantry Network, while $300,000 will be used to purchase gift cards for SNAP-eligible families that can be used at local grocery stores.
Huang, along with the leaders of Somerville, Chelsea, and Brookline, also encouraged members of their communities to donate or get involved to support their neighbors.
“We will need that help because we don’t have resources, simply, at the city level to fill in for what is happening in the federal government,” Huang said.
Wu echoed that sentiment.
“This is not going to be a fix or solution, and we’re hoping that our federal government can begin to function again,” Wu said.
Mara Kardas-Nelson of the Globe staff contributed to this story.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
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