WholeYouNYC partners gather at Met Council’s Spitzer Fulfillment Center to mark 750,000 New York City Medicaid members screened, credit Governor Hochul’s leadership and a bipartisan federal partnership, and call for a five-year extension before the waiver expires in March 2027
NEW YORK (September 17, 2026): A program that did not exist two years ago has now helped 1.5 million New Yorkers. Today, leaders and frontline staff from community-based organizations across New York City gathered at Met Council’s Spitzer Fulfillment Center to mark 750,000 New York City Medicaid members screened for health-related social needs through Public Health Solutions’ Social Care Network, WholeYouNYC, and to call for sustained investment in the community-based network that turns those screenings into food, housing, transportation and other services.
Under Governor Kathy Hochul, New York proposed the Medicaid Section 1115 waiver that created the Social Care Networks, won federal approval in 2024, and launched the program statewide in 2025. It stands as one of the largest investments in social care ever made by a state, including the first statewide effort to deliver food as medicine through Medicaid at this scale, and it has quickly become a national model. In less than two years, Social Care Networks across New York have helped 1.5 million people.
The program is also a rare example of bipartisan cooperation in health policy. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved New York’s waiver under one administration and has continued to work with the State under the next as New York seeks a five-year extension. The idea that people get healthier when they have food to eat, a safe place to live and a way to get to the doctor has proven to cross party lines. With the current waiver set to expire on March 31, 2027, the organizations gathered today called on the State and CMS to secure the extension and to keep community-based organizations at the center of the model.
The numbers are historic. The stories behind them are personal.
For Daisy, a Brooklyn mother of three, the program was a lifeline. Behind on rent and facing the loss of her home, she was connected through WholeYouNYC to rental assistance, utility assistance and prepared meal delivery, addressing the housing instability, financial strain and food insecurity that research shows take a serious toll on the health of parents and children alike. “I have the opportunity to be the type of woman and parent I want to be because of WholeYouNYC and its resources,” Daisy said.
“Reaching 750,000 Medicaid members is an extraordinary achievement for this network and every organization that helped build it,” said Zach Hennessey, Chief Strategy Officer
and Executive Vice President of WholeYouNYC at Public Health Solutions. “Our community partners bring the relationships, trust and commitment that make this work possible. Together, we are identifying needs that too often go unaddressed and addressing them with targeted, preventive services. This milestone gives us an opportunity to celebrate our partnership and make the case for its future.”
“You cannot expect someone to get healthy when they do not have enough food to eat or a safe place to live,” said David G. Greenfield, CEO of Met Council. “Public Health Solutions deserves enormous credit for bringing this network together, and every community organization involved deserves to share in this achievement. At Met Council, we see what it means when someone can finally get the help they need. We want elected officials and the public to see that work firsthand and understand why it must continue.”
“750,000 screenings is an extraordinary milestone, but behind that number are 750,000 New Yorkers whose needs were seen, heard, and taken seriously. At God’s Love We Deliver, we see every day what happens when we meet people where they are with the nutrition, compassion, and dignity they deserve. WholeYouNYC demonstrates what is possible when community organizations work together to ensure that no New Yorker facing illness or hardship has to navigate it alone,” said Terrence Meck, President & CEO, God’s Love We Deliver
“Partnering with WholeYouNYC has allowed us to even more holistically address these vital and immediate needs by linking those we serve to quality, appropriate and comprehensive health and social supports. We look forward to continuing this important work alongside our partner, PHS,” said Randi Rothschild, Chief Program Officer of the Fortune Society a nonprofit dedicated to serving people involved in the criminal legal system, many of whom are precariously housed, food insecure, living at or below the federal poverty level and challenged by myriad health and behavioral health care needs.”
In 2025, PHS through WholeYouNYC provided services to nearly 219,000 New Yorkers. Today, the network includes more than 300 participating community-based organizations across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, working together to connect Medicaid members with services that address the social and economic conditions that affect health.
Met Council, which hosted today’s gathering, is the largest Jewish charity in America fighting poverty, providing food, housing, social services and care for Holocaust survivors to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers every year. It operates America’s largest kosher food bank and is one of the largest Social Care Network providers in New York State.
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Health disparities among New Yorkers are large, persistent, and increasing. Public Health Solutions exists to change that trajectory and support underserved New Yorkers and their families to achieve optimal health and build pathways to reach their potential. As the largest public health nonprofit serving New York City, we improve health outcomes and help communities thrive by providing direct services to underserved families, supporting community-based organizations through our longstanding public-private partnerships, and bridging the gap between healthcare and community services.
About Met Council
Met Council is the largest Jewish charity in America fighting poverty. Serving hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers every year, Met Council provides food, housing, social services and care for Holocaust survivors, and operates America’s largest kosher food bank. Met Council is one of the largest Social Care Network providers in New York State. Learn more at metcouncil.org.
