Food pantries are feeling the pinch as the government shutdown threatens food assistance benefits known as SNAP.

Nearly three million New Yorkers depend on the food stamp program.

Dozens of people stood in a line in the pouring rain outside the Campaign Against Hunger in Bed-Stuy Thursday.

Many of them were Brooklyn residents who are not counting on getting their SNAP benefits this Saturday.

"It's real tragic that they are making this decision to cut SNAP," said Jordan Nathaniel, of Williamsburg.

Parents like Evanthe Clark, of Bed-Stuy, who said the freeze on SNAP benefits couldn't have come at a worse time, with the holidays just around the corner.

"This is my second pantry I've been to today because there is no food stamps," said Clark. "How am I supposed to feed my four children?"

Dr. Melony Samuels, CEO of The Campaign Against Hunger, said the looming pause on SNAP is driving them to a breaking point.

"We know this is going to be a crisis," she said. "We are going to be out of food if we don't get enough funding to continue with the demands we keep seeing."

Some of the produce this food pantry depends on comes from City Harvest, an organization that rescues food and redistributes it to hundreds of food pantries across the five boroughs.

"The need is high all across the city, the highest we've seen on record," said Jilly Stephens, CEO of City Harvest.

Stephens said they have a disaster plan which starts with purchasing food to help meet increased need.

"We began placing orders for additional food to respond to this SNAP cessation just this week and that food will start being delivered next week," said Stephens.

State and city officials are announcing funding to help fill the need as Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Thursday addressing these potential cuts to SNAP.

She announced $40 million in new funding for emergency food relief and $25 million for Nourish New York, which distributes pantry staples like milk, apples and cheese through a network of food banks and pantries.

Mayor Eric Adams announced this afternoon that the city is adding $15 million to the Emergency Funding to Community Food Connection Program, which helps fund food programs across the city.

The funding from the state and city is still far less than the $650 million New York State typically receives from SNAP each month.