Food banks and food pantries were already struggling after federal program cuts this year, but now they’re bracing for a tsunami of hungry people if it pauses. Federal food aid To low-income people kicks in this weekend as Federal government shutdown It continues.
The rush has already begun. The Central Christian Church food pantry in downtown Indianapolis scrambled Saturday to accommodate about twice the number of people it normally serves in one day.
“There’s increased demand. We know this is already happening since the economy has taken a downturn,” volunteer Beth White said, adding that with federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding cut, “the situation will continue to get worse for people.”
It’s a concern shared by charitable food providers across the country as states prepare for low-income families to see their SNAP benefits dry up. SNAP helps 40 million Americans, or about 1 in 8, buy groceries. The debit cards they use to buy groceries at participating stores and farmers markets each month are typically charged by the federal government.
This is scheduled to pause at the beginning of next month after the Trump administration said on Friday it would not be used An emergency fund of approximately $5 billion To keep food aid flowing in November amid the government shutdown. The administration also says states that temporarily cover the cost of food aid aid next month will not be reimbursed.
“The bottom line is, the well has run dry,” the USDA said in a statement. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 1.”
It’s the latest in a series of hardships imposed on charitable food services, which are intended to help pick up the slack on any shortfalls in federal food aid — not replace government aid entirely.
Charities have seen increased demand since the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise in inflation, and took a hit earlier this year when the Trump administration ended programs that provided… More than $1 billion for schools and food banks To fight hunger.
Reggie Gibbs, of Indianapolis, recently started receiving SNAP benefits, meaning he didn’t have to pick up as much from the Central Christian Church food pantry when he stopped Saturday. But he said he lives alone and is worried about what families with children will do.
“I gotta get back to the families, man,” he said. “What do you think they’ll get through, you know?”
Martina McCallop, of Washington, D.C., said she worries about how she will feed her children, ages 10 to 12, and herself, when the $786 they receive in monthly SNAP benefits runs out.
“I have to pay my bills and rent and get the things my kids need,” she said. “After that, I don’t have money to buy food.”
She worries that food pantries won’t be able to meet the sudden demand in a city with so many unpaid federal workers.
In Fairfax County, Virginia, where about 80,000 federal workers live, Deb Haynes, executive director of Food for Others, said she doesn’t expect food to run out entirely, largely because of donors.
“If I run out and need to ask for help, I know I’ll get it,” Hines said.
Food pantries provide about 1 meal for every 9 meals provided by SNAP, according to Feeding America, a national network of food banks. They obtain the food they distribute through donations from people, companies and some farmers. They also obtain food from USDA programs, and sometimes purchase food with contributions and grant funding.
“When you take away SNAP, the consequences are catastrophic,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “I suppose people assume that someone will stop it before it gets too bad. Well, it’s already pretty bad. And it’s getting worse.”
Some distributors are already seeing a staggering decline in food supplies. George Matysek, executive director of Share Food in the Philadelphia region, said the state government budget crisis has already led to funding cuts for his program.
“I’ve been here seven years,” Matysek said. “I have never seen our warehouses as empty as they are now.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was fast-tracking $30 million in emergency food aid funds “to help maintain food stocks,” and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said her state would fast-track $8 million to food banks.
Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia said last week that they would seek to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program stops.
Other states cannot provide much help, especially if they are not reimbursed by the federal government. For example, officials in Arkansas were directing recipients to find food pantries, or other charitable groups — even friends and family — for help.
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AP writers Jonelle Alicia in Los Angeles, Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, and video journalists Obed Lamy in Indianapolis and Mike Hausholder in Detroit contributed to this report.