News and Events

Here’s what has been happening with Webster Hope lately, and a look at what’s coming up.

Women’s Club of Webster members listen to Webster Hope Director Margery Morgan at their January meeting at Nucci’s Italian Seafood and Steakhouse restaurant.

Webster Hope Director Margery Morgan was featured speaker at the January monthly luncheon meeting of the Women's Club of Webster.

She discussed the organization's history, including how it began as a social ministry connected with the Holy Trinity Church but is now a separate entity.

She also spoke about the important role Webster Hope plays in the Webster community and services it offers, providing details about the number of families and individuals the organization serves.

She elaborated on some of Webster Hope's key activities including regular donations, wish lists, the annual garage sale, web site and newsletter.

The talk lasted about 30 minutes, followed by questions.

SNAP rules changing

Starting on March 1, those who receive Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, may need to meet new work requirements to continue getting their benefits. 

The new work requirements apply to "able bodied adults without dependents," often abbreviated ABAWD. 

New York state defines an ABAWD is a person who is:

Aged 18 to 64,

Not living with a child under 14, and

Able to work.

In general, adults who meet those requirements must now work, get job training or do approved community service work for 80 hours/month to get benefits beyond a three-month limit. There are exceptions (see list in box). Also, the age for mandatory work requirements for non-disabled adults increased from 54 to 64.

The work-rule exception for parents with young children also has been tightened. It now only applies to those with children younger than 14. Previously, it was under 18.

ABAWDs must meet the new work rules to continue receiving SNAP benefits for more than three months in a defined three-year period. 

In New York, the current three-year period started on October 1, 2023, and will end on September 30, 2026. Anyone who has received three months of benefits during that time and is not meeting the ABAWD work rules will lose their SNAP benefits. 

To meet the work rules, someone must have paid or unpaid work for 20 hours per week (80 hours per month), or a job that pays at least $217.50 per week, which is the equivalent of working 30 hours at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hoor.

In-kind work, such as doing building maintenance in exchange for a reduction in rent, can count toward required hours, too.

So can job-skill training, approved by the social services office, for 20 hours per week (80 hours per month), and community service work, such as volunteering.

However, community service work requirements depend on the size f the SNAP award is because required hours are based on the monthly benefit divided by the state minimum wage. For example, someone getting $320 in SNAP and living in Monroe County, where state minimum wage is $16, would have to complete 20 hours of community service or volunteer work each month. ($320 ÷ $16 = 20 hours).

(More information is available at otda.ny.gov/programs/snap/work-requirements.asp)

The Monroe County Department of Human Services has set up a telephone hotline at 585-753-2740 to answer questions about the changes.

According to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts, SNAP provides monthly food stipends for nearly 42 million low-income Americans. (In some parts of Webster, between 10 and 20 percent of residents are eligible for the program; see story on page 3.)

Pew further reported that the 2025 federal reconciliation law that mandated the the work-rule changes, also pushed billions of dollars in SNAP administrative costs, previously incurred at the federal level, onto states. This could change program administration as well.