The voucher program, known as Special One-Time Assistance (SOTA), covers a year of rent for New Yorkers with a steady income who move out of city shelters—and usually out of NYC altogether. Newark lawmakers accused the Big Apple of outsourcing its homelessness response while squeezing New Jersey’s own affordable housing supply.
“Many food management companies and producers of color are small to mid-sized, and we have benefited from the added flexibility in the way schools negotiate. The waivers have allowed us to retain staff and pay an honest living wage and continue buying fresh produce while serving scratch-made meals to a larger student body.”