The disruption in food assistance due to the government shutdown has communities banding together to feed their neighbors.
Even as the longest shutdown in U.S. history has come to an end, food banks and other non-profits say they expect demand to continue in the coming weeks and throughout the holiday season as the low-income get back on their feet.
Thirteen percent of Kentuckians rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), exceeding the national average. This month’s disruption in SNAP benefits has caused exacerbated hardships in households already considered food insecure. For evidence of that, look no further than the classroom.
“Last week, we were closed on Monday for a professional development day and I had three kiddos knock on my window and ask for food, and that is the first time that’s ever happened to me," said Sarah Minix, Family Resource Coordinator at Parker Bennett Curry Elementary School in Bowling Green. "Never have I had a student come to me on a day off and ask for food.”
The school is mostly made up of minority and international students. Nearly 80% of its students qualify for SNAP benefits.
In her role as the FRC, Minix sends some students home with non-perishable food in their backpacks on the weekends when they don’t have access to school meals. That was before the lapse in SNAP benefits. Now, Minix says families who don’t normally have to ask are seeking help.
“Last week, we had a little girl who met with one of our teachers. She has never asked me for anything. Her family has never asked for anything, but she was talking about how they don’t have as much food in their home as they normally do and how it was very concerning to her," Minix told WKU Public Radio. "She was so gracious though because she said, ‘I’m just fortunate to have food at all and I know there are some kids who don’t have any.’"
The school has a small food pantry outside the building that’s open around the clock. Minix said she’s been refilling it more often the past couple of weeks.
The Bowling Green Independent School District has launched a donation campaign for the community to support school children in need.
Community support for food pantries is more important than ever as SNAP benefits remain underfunded. Even with partial payments, there’s uncertainty how much the payments will be and when they will reach recipients. And many other families are needing food assistance due to federal furloughs.
Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Oct. 31 and tapped Kentucky’s budget reserves to send $5 million to the state’s food banks.
Feeding America Kentucky's Heartland (FAKH), based in Elizabethtown, received just over $1 million to supply pantries in the 42 counties it serves in central, southern, and western Kentucky. That service region has more than 57,000 households that received $19 million in SNAP benefits in October.
“Our yearly budget is a little over $6 million, explained FAKH Executive Director Charles Dennis. "I don’t think we can completely fill that gap so our approach is to really hit the staple items to help the best we can.”
From the $1 million that Feeding America received, Warren County pantries received $136,895 this week based on more than 7,700 SNAP recipients in the county.
Feeding America also launched an emergency donation drive to bolster supplies at its 200 partner agencies that distribute food. One of those is House on the Hill, a Bowling Green nonprofit that provides food and housing to low-income families. Executive Director Joel Hawkins says the number of people seeking help has recently tripled.
“I met with a young woman this morning. She would have gotten her benefits on the 5th or 7th, but in her app, it says she won’t get her benefits until the 19th, so she’s waiting two extra weeks to get the funds she would normally have at the beginning of the month," Hawkins explained. "She and her husband have a one-year-old. He’s working and I think she’s a stay at home mom, so it’s tough.
Across town, Barry Buford is shopping at the Community Grocery run by Bowling Green's First Christian Church. The 74-year-old widower on disability receives about $180 in SNAP benefits on the 3rd of each month, except this month when he got only a partial payment.
“Half of that, as high as food is today, is not gonna do nothing for nobody," Buford said.
Buford knows how to stretch resources, but lately, he’s pretty much emptied his cabinets.
“I was brought up, you always keep something for a rainy day, but it’s hard when you’re not getting your full benefits you’re supposed to be," Buford said. "It’s a whole different ball game then.”
Volunteer Gary Verst said the church’s community grocery supported twice the number of people last week than it does in a typical week.
“Food insecurity and the holidays is particularly bad. You hate to see that happen," Verst added. "I anticipate we’ll be busier than usual until the end of the year.
Even though the government shutdown is over, it’s unclear how soon full SNAP benefits will start flowing again on EBT cards. Another unknown is when furloughed federal workers will begin receiving back pay.
Weary from an unprecedented lapse in government support, communities will feel the gap until everyone is back on their feet.
