New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has struck a 90-day deal with President Donald Trump to pump the brakes on enforcing new federal SNAP rules that threatened to shutter thousands of corner bodegas—the very spots Black folks, people of color, and working-class families rely on to put food on the table.
The agreement marks a historic moment of direct negotiation with an administration whose policies have created uncertainty for millions of folks relying on federal food assistance. And for Black communities, where food insecurity remains disproportionately high, the stakes extend beyond the survival of small businesses.
Bodegas are more than neighborhood convenience stores in New York City. Across all five boroughs, these businesses are woven into the cultural and economic fabric of working-class communities, providing accessible groceries and everyday essentials in neighborhoods where full-service supermarkets can be difficult to reach.
At the same time, families rely heavily on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), so losing the ability to use benefits at these stores could mean another barrier between them and a reliable source of food.
Mamdani celebrated the deal with the Trump administration that gives bodegas and neighborhood grocery stores another 90 days to comply with USDA stocking standards or risk losing their ability to accept SNAP benefits.
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“When hundreds of bodegas came to our administration asking for help, we stood with them,” Mamdani wrote in a statement shared with The Root. “Without more time, many of these stores risked losing the ability to accept SNAP – threatening their livelihoods and making it harder for families to put food on the table.”
And the racial disparities surrounding food insecurity are hard to ignore. Black families are disproportionately affected, with nearly one in four Black, non-Hispanic households (24.4%) experiencing food insecurity in 2024, compared with 10.1% of white, non-Hispanic households, according to the USDA. Black Americans also made up 25.7% of SNAP recipients in fiscal year 2023, highlighting just how important the program is to Black communities.
The USDA was set to begin enforcing the new stocking requirements on Nov. 4. Under the rule, stores accepting SNAP must carry at least seven varieties of food across four categories: dairy, grains, protein, and fruits and vegetables.
But small retailers and anti-hunger advocates have been pushing back, arguing that the timeline doesn’t give neighborhood stores enough time or resources to make the changes. Nearly 250 stores reportedly signed a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins asking for a delay, while lawmakers from both sides of the aisle also called for more time.
“For those living in areas with no major grocery stores, the loss of these authorized SNAP retailers means losing the only accessible point of purchase for groceries,” Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center, said in a statement.
New York City has more than 10,000 bodegas and corner stores, and SNAP benefits provide billions of dollars in annual purchasing power. Deputy Mayor Julie Su said the extension gives retailers additional time to make changes they want to implement but lack the resources and guidance to accomplish immediately.
The 90-day extension gives bodegas some much-needed breathing room, but it’s only a temporary fix. As we head into 2027, there are still big questions about the future of SNAP, including funding, eligibility and whether families will continue to have access to the food assistance they depend on.
For Black families, who are already more likely to experience food insecurity, what’s decided in the coming months could have a real impact—not just on their grocery budgets, but on the neighborhood businesses and communities that help keep food on the table.
