Here are resources available amid surging demand at local food banks
After the Trump administration said it would “partially fund” SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits in November, many families are still worried about how to put food on the table.
Initially, SNAP benefits were not set to be distributed at all for November, but several lawsuits forced the Trump administration to dip into a $5 billion contingency fund to pay for roughly half of the normal monthly benefits sent out to around 42 million Americans each month.
However, it is unclear when the payments would go. The USDA warned in a court filing that it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes to send out reduced benefits, according to the Associated Press.
Recipients in the local area include 2 million people in Pennsylvania, 800,000 people in New Jersey and 100,000 people in Delaware.
All three states are now in a state of emergency and are assisting in filling the funding gap amid the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 and appears to have no end in sight.
On Monday, Nov. 3, the rise in demand for food assistance was already being felt across the region.
At the Bebashi food bank in University City, they have seen double or triple the people coming in due to the added need.
Arnette Hill, a SNAP recipient who went to get food at Bebashi on Monday, said she her first worry was surviving when she learned of the SNAP payments pause.
“It’s hard because the food is limited,” Hill said “It’s not much, so you have to keep going around from place to place to survive.”
If you are impacted by the SNAP funding lapse, here are resources that may help in your state, as well as in Philadelphia:
Philadelphia’s SNAP support plan
The City of Philadelphia said on Nov. 1 it is allocating $7 million to help the 500,000 city residents who rely on SNAP benefits, with an additional $6 million from philanthropy and $1 million from the Commonwealth going towards helping provide food for people during the government shutdown.
Additionally, on Monday, Nov. 3, Mayor Cherelle Parker said the City of Philadelphia was launching a “One Philly SNAP Support Plan” to greater assist people amid the SNAP funding lapse.
As part of the plan, the city will provide $2 million in emergency grants to food security organizations, with individual grants totaling between $5,000 and $50,000.
The application process began at 4 p.m. on Nov. 3 and are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 5, Parker’s office said. The fund are expected to be distributed by Monday, Nov. 10.
To apply, organizations can do so online here or email OnePhillySnapSupport@phila.gov.
In-person applications can also be submitted at 7801 Essington Avenue in Philadelphia, but Parker’s office said to call 215-685-9433 to schedule in advance.
Philadelphia will also be giving out $500,000 in Emergency Revenue Replacement Grants for small food retailers, corner stores and grocery stores to help them financially as they lost revenue from the SNAP payments lapse.
An application for the revenue replacement grant can be found here.
Additional resources in Pennsylvania
For immediate food assistance, Pennsylvanians can visit pa211.org, feedingpa.org, or pa-navigate.org.
Living specifically in the Philadelphia region? You can visit phila.gov/food for additional food resources.
If you can, please consider donating food or volunteering at your local food pantry. Find the closest food pantry in Pennsylvania at feedingpa.org.
Chef Dad’s Table at The Center for Learning, located in Broomall, hosted an “Emergency SNAP Food Drive” and is now accepting non-perishable food donations. For more information, click here.
The Hart of Catering and Cafe based in Rittenhouse Square on the 2100 block of Sansom Street is planning to donate casseroles to SNAP recipients starting on Nov. 8. Anyone interesting in placing an order has until 5 p.m. on Nov. 6.
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Mitzvah Food Program is working to help provide meals to families during this time. Check out their website for more information.
Philabundance plans to serve an additional 600,000 meals each month for the next three months, bringing its total to 3 million meals per month.
Resources in New Jersey
In New Jersey, you can find food pantries and community kitchens at nj211.org, and information about the School Meal Application at nj.gov/foodsecurity.
The Community FoodBank of New Jersey can also help connect you with resources for free food and other services.
Cathedral Kitchen in Camden is serving hot meals to families impacted. Earlier in the week, the organization announced that it had reached a heartbreaking record of 800 meals served in one day. For more information, visit cathedralkitchen.org.
On Monday, the non-profit, Mercer Street Friends, hosted a food drive in Trenton’s Cadwalader Park, providing food to more than 700 families.
“It’s about to be real rough because all the cash we have now, we have to use for food because food is a real main thing you cannot live,” said Lashawna Spencer. “You cannot raise your kids. You can’t even take care of your kids without feeding them.”
You can donate to Mercer Street Friends here.
Resources in Delaware
Delaware Governor Matt Meyer has declared a state of emergency to allow him to find state money to fund SNAP benefits on a week-by-week basis.
He is also shifting more resources to food banks and pantries across his state. But he says this financial shell game isn’t sustainable for his state or any other state —red or blue. He says, shutdown or not, food needs to get on families’ tables
Meyer is also anticipating a surge in federal workers now needing food help. He is asking Delawareans who are doing ok financially to consider making a monetary or food donation.
Visit delaware211.org for food assistance. The Food Bank of Delaware also has a list of food pantries available throughout the state.
Resources for pet owners
The interruption to SNAP benefits and the rising cost of groceries has left many families struggling to put food on the table… as well as in the dog bowl.
Some shelters say they are seeing a rise in families who are forced to surrender their pets because they can no longer afford to feed and take care of them.
“We’ve had a lot of surrenders recently and I have to believe it’s due to financial reasons. It’s a terrible situation to be in, ‘Are you going to choose to feed your children or your animal?”
When NBC10 was at the Faithful Friends Pet Food Bank in New Castle, Del., on Monday, a malnourished dog named Sweetheart had just been surrendered to the organization.
Kayla Mullen, who works at the pet food pantry, said the warehouse is a little slim right now, but they are fighting hard to get it stocked so they can continue to give it to families for free so they can keep their pets.
“So when budgets are tight, unfortunately your pet food budget is gonna be the first to go,” Mullen said. “You can’t feed yourself, you can’t feed your pets.”
The government shutdown has already meant more SNAP families need more help caring for their pets, but the double whammy pet food banks are facing is that even non-SNAP families are finding higher prices on everything as well, causing donations to shelters to decrease.
“If the economy is not great, we are not getting as many donations as we need,” Mullen said.
If you can afford to help Faithful Friends or any shelter in our region, they would appreciate a financial donation.
“Unfortunately, it’s separating pets from their families, which we never want to see,” Mullen said.
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
