Bodega owners rep pleads with needy New Yorkers not to loot after SNAP benefits expire: ‘They could be shot’

A rep for Big Apple bodega owners is pleading with needy New Yorkers to keep their cool and avoid loop neighborhood stores after SNAP benefits possibly expire due to the federal shutdown.

Fernando Mateo, who said this week he’s starting his own new bodega group, said storeowners will have to defend themselves if their stores are looted — and hungry locals could be in harm’s way.

“Let’s face it, when people go hungry and they don’t have money and they have to feed their kids, they’re going to do whatever they have to do to achieve that,” Mateo said Thursday.

“We are just afraid that if they come in and loot, and one of the bodega owners or workers intervene, they could be shot, they could get stabbed, they could get killed,” he said. “And that’s what we want to prevent.”

Mateo’s plea came as he announced he was founding a new “Bodega Alliance” — after resigning from the United Bodegas of America in a huff due to a rift over its endorsement of Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday.

Mateo said he felt “betrayed” when United Bodegas of America President Radhames Rodriguez publicly backed the lefty mayoral front-runner, who has vowed to launch a city-owned grocery store in each of the five boroughs, if elected.

He said his new group will work closely with the NYPD to keep the peace if SNAP food stamps dry up on Saturday.

Mateo instead urged needy residents to simply ask for handouts, and not to resort to theft.

“If you live in a community and you know your local bodega, aske them for food, ask them for supplies, and I’m sure the bodega owner will oblige,” he said. “He will come through and he will help.”

At issue is the US Department of Agriculture food stamp program that provides assistance to 42 million needy Americans, which will cease on Nov. 1 due to the lingering stalemate on Capital Hill that has shut down the government for almost a month — and counting.

Angry Americans have already taken to social media to threaten widespread shoplifting when it happens, raising the alarm for not only small store owners, but national chains as well.