NY State Police sergeant accused of sexually exploiting children, possessing child porn

New York CIty is wants to make it easier for New Yorkers to eat healthy — so it’s expanding a program to help those who rely on SNAP benefits.

The cost of groceries. Especially fresh fruit and veggies. A challenge for seniors on a fixed income like Rosa Tejada of Corona.

“Everything is expensive. Anything you can do for people with low income is good,” she told News 4 New York.

But now she’s trying this pink benefits card, which is an expansion of SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — called “Get the Good Stuff.”

Twenty-one stores are offering it allowing users to get a $1 match on eligible produce with a $10 maximum a day. Twelve more stores will be added to the list soon.

We break down what you need to know about this expansion that will benefit thousands of families.

What is the expanded New York City SNAP program “Get the Good Stuff”?

It’s a way of stretching your dollar to buy fruits and vegetables. Get the good stuff means if here’s a $2 bag of grapes, you would only have to spend $1 for it, and the city spends the other dollar, with up to a maximum of $10 per day and $300 per month.

This is an extension of a pre-existing SNAP program.

Are all fruits and vegetables included in this expansion?

For the most part, yes. The program focuses on providing all types of produce to SNAP enrollees.

“Fresh, canned, dried, anything that’s, a healthy fruit or vegetable counts,” NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said.

Do SNAP enrollees need to do anything to get the expanded benefits?

Yes. Go to the health map that’s on the New York City Health Department website. Find a participating store. Go into that store and ask for the pink card, which enables you to get the dollar for dollar match on fruits and vegetables, essentially doubling your spending power.

What’s the difference between the newly announced expanded SNAP benefits and NYC’s Health Bucks program?

They are both similar in the sense that they provide monetary value for money spent on healthy produce — all in an effort to give SNAP enrollees healthier options. But when it comes to the Health Bucks program, it has “health bucks” which can be used at farmers markets, not at grocery stores like the “Get the Good Stuff” program. Health Bucks also has a maximum of $10 a day now, but it’s going up to $14 maximum in 2027.

“We have a couple of different ways that we try to address food insecurity across the city,” Martin said. “This is one of those ways” the Get the Good Stuff program. But we have other ways as well, like the Health Bucks program, which offers people a similar dollar for dollar match at farmers markets.”

Why is NYC expanding SNAP benefits?

It all comes down to the affordability crisis. They figure if there’s any way to stretch your dollar at a time when produce costs a lot of money, it’s worthwhile.