Food banks brace for surge despite partial SNAP funding

LAKEVILLE — Dozens of cars lined up outside the Corner Food Pantry on Oct. 31 as the looming lapse in federal food aid funding added to the gloom of a rainy Halloween afternoon.

The uncertainty surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP or food stamps, threatened to leave millions of households across the nation without benefits just as the month ended.

About 42 million Americans rely on SNAP — including roughly 360,000 Connecticut residents — and many were bracing to miss their November payment scheduled for the next day. But volunteers at Lakeville’s tri-state food assistance nonprofit pressed on as heavy rain soaked their umbrellas and the month-long government shutdown in Washington dragged on.

“The community is coming together,” said board member Sarah Gunderson as she checked food recipients’ item sheets outside the pantry’s storehouse beside St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. She said organizations and individuals across the region had responded quickly, asking how to help and offering to volunteer.

On Monday, Nov. 3, the USDA announced it would use contingency funds to finance November’s payments, but it will only amount to about $4.5 billion, or just over half of the normal allotment for the month.

While SNAP recipients will receive payments this month, it remains to be seen how much beneficiaries will get, and when they can expect to see the money hit their EBT accounts. The agency has cautioned that due to complications surrounding distributing partial payments, some recipients potentially could wait weeks or even months for their portion. Lawmakers and food access advocates have warned that the delay could impact vulnerable populations for months to come.

Even as SNAP benefits are expected to resume for now, the federal shut down continues, with each party blaming the other. The stalemate is putting other critical social service programs at risk of running out of money.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is depleting its limited emergency reserves — the Trump Administration allocated an additional $450 million in back-up funds on Friday which is expected to last the program, which reaches seven million vulnerable Americans under normal circumstances, for two to three more weeks, though future support is uncertain beyond that point.

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps about six million households nationwide with winter heating costs, is similarly on track to lose funding just as the mercury is beginning to drop in earnest.

Gov. Ned Lamont (D) announced the state has provided the nonprofit Connecticut Foodshare with $3 million in emergency funds to distribute to food banks, though state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have contested that the number is small compared to other states, and won’t address the multi-pronged threat to vulnerable residents that the shutdown has rendered.

One Salisbury resident who sat in her car as she waited for her turn at the Corner Food Pantry on Friday afternoon said that she was “very angry” about the situation in Washington, but simultaneously “enormously grateful” for the work of the food bank. She said she was picking up food for her disabled daughter, who was in need of Saturday’s SNAP payment that wouldn’t come, and her daughter’s young son.

She works part-time, she said, and had to rely on the Pantry while the federal program paused. “I have to do this so they can have food,” she said.

“This just really boils my blood,” she added.

While some money from SNAP is now expected to reach beneficiaries, the interruption is still likely to cause suffering for families and residents in need.

Allison Gray, a pantry board member, said residents and local groups can still play a big role in helping out right now. She said food drives are especially helpful and that she has already emailed local groups a list of suggested actions and needed items. Monetary donations and food drop-offs also make a significant difference, particularly contributions of dry, packaged goods and snacks. “Nobody can afford to buy snacks,” she said.

While the extensive storerooms of the food bank appear well stocked, Gray said much more is needed, especially with Thanksgiving approaching and as more residents turn to food banks to supplement their shelves.

Residents concerned about their food security in the coming weeks are encouraged to contact their town’s social services department for assistance.

Those in a position to give can support local food banks, such as the following, as they prepare for increased demand: The Corner Food Pantry in Lakeville serving residents of Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts; Fishes and Loaves in North Canaan serving residents of North Canaan, Falls Village and Norfolk; Sharon Social Services food pantry serving residents of Sharon; Kent’s food bank serving town residents in need; Cornwall Social Services’ food pantry serving town residents; and Falls Village’s food pantry which is available to town residents.