All Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients will receive next month's benefits no later than March 7 - approximately one week earlier than scheduled, according to a press release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

The early release is intended to ease the burden on recipients that have been forced to stretch February's benefits for more than six weeks because of the recent unprecedented shutdown of the federal government.

"We will not allow the abject failure of leadership in Washington to jeopardize the ability of families to put food on the table," said. "This early release of food benefits will provide a measure of relief to New Yorkers who rely on this critical program to make ends meet."

The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance is issuing March benefits earlier than usual for most recipients to mitigate the hardships caused by the so-called "SNAP gap." This means many New Yorkers will see next month's benefits appear approximately a week earlier than their normal schedule.

About 2.7 million individuals and 1.5 million households rely on SNAP benefits to make ends meet. In December alone, New York State issued more than $374 million to help New Yorkers avoid food insecurity.

The federal government directed states to issue SNAP benefits on Jan. 17 due to the government shutdown. Approximately 1.4 million households received their February benefits three weeks earlier than normal, to ensure sufficient funding was available.

The regular benefits schedule for March was restored after the federal government reopened, causing some New Yorkers - especially those in New York City - to not see benefits until mid to late March.