Food banks throughout the country could be in need of additional donations this holiday season because of a recent decrease to all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
With Thanksgiving weeks away, cuts to SNAP have come at an inopportune time. As of Nov. 1, all recipients of SNAP benefits will see an average decrease of $11 per person, per month. It is now expected a greater number of people will need to supplement the loss through the use of food banks.
“We are definitely expecting an increase in usage,” said Natasha Pernicka, director of The Food Pantries of the Capital Region, a coalition of 53 food pantries from across the region. “Many pantries are already reporting a record number of families seeking assistance.”
Pernicka said the cuts could be catastrophic for some families. The benefits are supposed to be used as a supplement to the recipients’ income, but oftentimes, tough decisions have to be made between paying essential bills and food. These decisions often leave people with less food to eat than desired.
The decrease to SNAP benefits come as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 expires. The act was passed during the recession to help those in need during the economic downturn. Many SNAP recipients saw an increase of 13.6 percent in their allotment.
Ann Malak, a managing attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, said unfortunately the economy hasn’t returned to the same level.
Paralegals at Legal Aid help clients to navigate the food stamp application process. Malak said they too are waiting to see what the outcome of the expiration of ARRA will be. Some may opt to not bother signing up for the benefits because taking the time to do the paper work may be perceived as too troublesome for the amount they receive in aid.
Along with the average person seeing a cut of $11 per month, the minimum payment was reduced from $16 to $15 per month. Malak said her organization is now working with recipients to better educate them about budgeting their benefits, as a family of four would see a reduction of $44.
“It’s possible it hasn’t hit some people yet that they have less money until they get to the end of the month and it’s gone already,” said Malak.
Mark Quandt, director of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, said it’s hard to know what the fallout will be, but past experience has been whenever programs are cut or the economy takes a turn for the worse, the number of people using local pantries tends to increase.
“I would assume that it will have a negative impact on peoples lives,” said Quandt.
Pernicka said the Food Pantries of the Capital District have seen a 52 percent increase of use since 2008. She said about 65,000 people in the greater Capital District struggle with food insecurity on a regular basis. The coalition serves enough food to provide 2.5 million meals annually, reaching about 50,000 local people.
Because of the expiration of ARRA, many who volunteer at local pantries are opting to take the SNAP Challenge from Feeding America. For a week, those who take the challenge can only live on $4.50 a day for all food and beverages.
Pernicka took the challenge for five days, as did Jane Sanders from the Bethlehem Food Pantry. Pernicka said she attempted to eat healthy by using a lot of her allotted funds to buy bulk vegetables, but at the end of the day, she continued to be hungry.
“Now, I realize I was being optimistic,” said Pernicka. “I found I didn’t have enough food and had a feeling of constant hunger. I never felt satisfied after eating my meals. I was not starving, just never satisfied.”
Sanders said she tried to shop carefully, but she ran out of money for some of the things she wanted and had to put items back. She got a pre-cooked turkey breast, some cheese, yogurt and frozen vegetables because she was also trying to eat healthy.
“It was an eye-opening experience,” said Sanders. “Obviously, we can’t get things from food pantries for ourselves. It gave me an appreciation for people living on a very limited budget.”
Although extra food donations to your local pantry are appreciated, most have said monetary donations can go further. For every $1 donated, food pantries can purchase 6 pounds worth of food. For more information, visit www.regionalfoodbank.net or www.thefoodpantries.org.
For those looking for assistance on Thanksgiving Day, call 434-0131 to have a meal delivered to your home through the annual Equinox Thanksgiving Day Community Dinner.