SNAP Benefits Impacted by Government Shutdown: Local Food Banks Brace for Increased Demand as Support Efforts Intensify
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Photo courtesy of Moon Bhuyan, Unsplash [/caption]
News by Nhatt Nichols
On November 1, 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to purchase food did not receive their monthly benefit because of the government shutdown.
Now, due to a federal court decision on Monday, Nov 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay about half of November's SNAP benefits. Those benefits must be paid by Wednesday, Nov 5, according to a court order by U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr.
Patrick A. Penn, USDA’s deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, said the administrative hurdles in calculating and delivering a half-month’s portion of benefits could take “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months,” according to reporting in the Washington State Standard.
Jefferson County Food Banks Brace for Expanded Use
With SNAP benefits currently unavailable, people in Jefferson County and across the US are turning to food pantries and other nonprofit organizations to help put food on the table.
“We do not anticipate the government reopening anytime soon,” Jefferson County Food Bank Association Executive Director Patricia Hennessy said. “Essentially, what is happening in the other Washington is a policy decision to promote hunger and food insecurity amongst hard-working Americans.”
Currently, Jefferson County food banks are seeing around 3,300 households a month come through their four food banks, which, according to Hennessy, is approximately 20% of all households in Jefferson County.
Hennessy anticipates a 25% increase in households seeking assistance, bringing the total to over 4,000 households a month. “The demand, we are afraid, is going to outpace our ability to purchase. And our purchasing budget for food is the largest line item in our budget. It is well north of $300,000,” Hennessy said.
Recognizing the increased strain expected to hit food banks, Governor Bob Ferguson directed nearly $2.2 million per week to provide additional support to Washington’s food banks. The first transfer will be made on Nov 3, and the transfers will continue weekly until SNAP funding is restored, according to a press release from the Governor’s office.
A portion of that $2.2 million from the state will be distributed to the Port Angeles Food Bank, Hennessy explained, which will buy food that will be distributed across the Peninsula, including to the Jefferson County Food Bank Association, though there is every indication that many households who rely on SNAP benefits will be facing tough choices.
“Food is our common denominator,” Hennessy said, “and right now, we don't need to pull chairs away from the table. We need to put more chairs and lengthen the table, because this is critical. This is absolutely critical.”
Port Townsend Farmers Market Helps Support Whole Food System
SNAP benefits don’t solely help support food-insecure people; an estimated $1.50 goes to the local economy for every dollar of SNAP benefits spent. At the Port Townsend Farmer’s Market, an estimated 11% of farmers’ profits come from SNAP or a matching fund.
Providing access to healthy food for all isn’t just an extra at the Jefferson County Farmers’ Market; it's written into their mission statement.
The market has been involved in food access programs for years, first accepting SNAP benefits as an early farmers market in Washington, and then offering a successful matching program, according to Amanda Milholland, the executive director of the Jefferson County Farmers Markets.
“It's about making sure that people in our community, regardless of income, have access to the market and to the food that's produced here in our community, and also the economic benefit that happens when our community is empowered to be able to shop with local businesses,” Milholland said. “Those two pieces go hand in hand.”
In the wake of the SNAP cuts, the Farmers Market pulled together additional funding to help support both the food-insecure and the farmers they normally shop from.
“Anyone who shows up with a snap card will be able to go to the market booth and present their card and get $15 that they can spend at the market,” Milholland said, “and that's in addition to whatever money they might have on their card that they could still continue to match.”
To fund this extra support, the farmers' market has had to tap into funds they had planned to spend next year. But Milholland is confident that they can help motivate the community to see the importance of keeping our food access programs strong and getting some extra support so that we can both sustain the $15 SNAP benefit and next year’s SNAP matching program.
“There's another critical piece, which is that there's going to be a 60% reduction to the funding that we've been receiving as state and federal funding for our SNAP Market Match program,” Milholland said, “and that's due to state and federal budgets for food assistance.”
People have been asking Milholland what they can do as individuals to help, often expressing a desire to create a new resource. Although she admires people who bring creative problem-solving solutions, Milholland encourages people to support ongoing programs with donations as the best way to reach people who need help. She also notes that those without a surplus of money can help by donating their time to organizations like the food bank.
