NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state food emergency and unlocked an additional $65 million in state hunger funding as officials at the city, state and federal levels scrambled to cope with the impact of a cutoff of SNAP benefits for low-income recipients starting on Saturday.

After packing food baskets at an East Harlem community center, Hochul lashed out at President Donald Trump and Republicans for turning a deaf ear to pleas to extend food assistance as the government shutdown stretches towards a second month.

“People are saying: ‘How much more can I take?'” Hochul said. “In 48 hours, the clock is going to run out on 42 million people including 3 million in New York.”

She warned GOP lawmakers that they would pay a heavy price at the ballot box if they don’t find a way to fund people’s basic needs as the shutdown standoff drags into November.

“When they ignore their constituencies there need to be consequences,” Hochul declared. “That’s not who we are.”

The move by Hochul raises to more than $100 million the state funding for food assistance to cope with the looming SNAP cutoff. That’s still a small drop in the bucket compared to the estimated $650 million per month the federal government normally pays to bankroll food stamps for New Yorkers.

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams called for Hochul and Mayor Adams to find a way to continue to fund SNAP benefits directly to the debit cards of some 2 million NYC SNAP recipients as opposed to funneling cash to soup kitchens and food pantries.

“”If there is ever a time to use the rainy day funds, it would be to make sure people can eat,” Williams said. “I don’t think people realize how catastrophic this actually is.”

Hochul also called on public schools to loosen rules related to free breakfast and lunch to permit students whose families are impacted by the SNAP cutoff to take food home.

“What if we can pack a sandwich to take home?” the governor asked. “That might be dinner.”

City schools officials say they are working to mitigate the impact of students’ families losing SNAP funds.

“Our students can continue to count on their school meals,” said Isla Gething, a city schools spokeswoman.

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand joined a letter from Democrats to Trump demanding that he order the U.S. Department of Agriculture to dip into a contingency fund to pay SNAP benefits for November.

“For families that are already stretched thin, this decision is more than political. It’s a matter of survival,” Gillibrand told reporters.

The Trump administration says the fund cannot be used to mitigate the impact of the shutdown even though it previously said it could be used to fund SNAP.

Attorney General Letitia James and more than 20 Democratic-led states are suing the Trump administration, asking a Boston federal judge to order an extension of SNAP benefits.

District Court Judge Indira Talwani suggested she might order the feds to partially fund the program for November while the case plays out.

“The steps involve finding an equitable way of reducing benefits,” said Talwani, who was nominated to the court by former President Barack Obama, who said she would issue an order later in the day.

Republicans, who control the White House and both houses of Congress, blame Democrats for the shutdown, which started Oct. 1, because the minority party refused to back a GOP stopgap spending plan.

Democrats are demanding bipartisan negotiations over Trump’s draconian health cuts and especially Republicans’ refusal to extend Obamacare tax credits, which has hit about 20 million Americans with skyrocketing insurance costs as open enrollment starts in November.

Some lawmakers say there are rumblings of back-channel talks to reach a compromise to end the shutdown, especially now that polls say voters mostly blame Trump and the GOP for the standoff. But there are no formal negotiations set and leaders from both sides of the aisle insist they won’t back down.

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