Food pantries throughout the region are bracing for what could be a catastrophic event if the SNAP program loses its funding on Saturday.
They’ve already been scrambling to meet increased demand since the current federal government shutdown a month ago and have been coping with a previous federal government reduction of a half million pounds of food to the Rhode Island Food Bank.
Demand has particularly increased as the SNAP shutdown comes closer.
“We have seen a significant increase in need, especially this week,” said Heather Hole Strout, executive director of Newport’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. “People are anxious, and many are stocking up in fear that they will not be able to feed their families.”
Those sentiments were echoed by other food pantry directors, including the Jonnycake Center in Westerly, The Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center in Stonington, CT, and RICAN, which serves all of Washington County.
Sue Sedensky, executive director of the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center (PNC), said the PNC, which had 1,919 people signed up for its food pantry, added another 160 in the last month.
Both the Jonnycake Center’s Lee Eastbourne and RICAN’s Rachel LaPorte said they too have seen a large influx of new clients over the last few weeks, and particularly this past week.
Nationwide, some 42 million people rely upon SNAP benefits, and in Rhode Island, 145,000 rely upon SNAP. In Newport some 1,200 people receive SNAP benefits.
Food drives (which are collecting non-perishable foods) are being held throughout the state, hopeful of making up what is likely a significant shortfall:
- The MLK Center is holding a drive-up food drive on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- In Westerly, state Sen. Victoria Gu and others are promoting a food drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Franklin Street Shopping Center in Westerly.
- Boy Scouts in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connected, are collecting food throughout all three states on Saturday morning.
- Cardi’s Furniture is collecting food at all its locations.
Even if the federal government ends up funding the SNAP program, it has created a great deal of anxiety among SNAP recipients.
Asked if clients have expressed concerns about a SNAP shutdown, Strout said “Yes, hundreds. Our food pantry has been the busiest we’ve ever seen it. Our meal services have been extremely busy as well. People are asking so many questions, and I wish we had the answers. We just keep assuring them that we will do everything to help feed them. Time and again, our community comes through to help.”
The Rhode Island Food Bank, which provides considerable food to the nearly 150 food pantries in Rhode Island, has been struggling to make up for the federal cutbacks.
“We rely on the food bank for about 40 percent of our food, and they have not let us down,” Strout said. “They are working tirelessly to get food on the shelves of almost 150 food pantries across the state. Do I wish that funding food pantries was a state priority, yes, but the food bank is doing a great job with limited resources.”
