Food pantry demand rises amid SNAP uncertainty
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — As the government shutdown and lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits continue, local food pantries continue to serve more people.
"There’s a lot of uncertainty in our community among the people that shop with us,” Worthington Resource Pantry Executive Director Nick Linkenhoker said. “Our neighbors here at the pantry aren’t quite sure what their SNAP benefits are going to look like this month; they’re not quite sure when those SNAP benefits are going to arrive.”
He said the organization is serving the most people it has since the pandemic. One of the people who visited the pantry on Wednesday was Mari D'Andrea.
“I’m here early, I'd only come at the end of the month if I needed help, but I’m here now because I got no help for myself, I have no SNAP," she said.
D’Andrea is raising two of her grandchildren and relies on SNAP to feed them. This visit to the pantry occurred just five days into the month because she hadn't received her benefits.
“I wish we’d get them sooner rather than later, but thank God we've got food pantries we can turn to," she said.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) said it's following federal guidance on partial payments for November, but it's still unclear when they will go out.
“That level of anxiety is heightening something that's already stressful for folks," Linkenhoker said.
Linkenhoker said the pantry usually serves about 220 families a day but is serving approximately 270 a day right now. He said this has included some federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees who are working without pay as well as families waiting on SNAP.
“Folks in our line generally are pretty, it's a pretty happy experience for folks; the last couple of weeks, there’s been a lot more tears,” Linkenhoker said. “There’s been a lot more folks who are just, they’re just scared and they don’t know what they’re going to do.”
D'Andrea said there's never a good time for a situation like this, but said this is especially challenging given the holidays are around the corner.
“It puts more emphasis on reaching out to other resources, not knowing whether you’ll have money to buy Thanksgiving dinner, it’s stressful," she said.
Linkenhoker said he's been hearing the words, "I never thought I'd be here," from a lot more clients recently. The pantry has doubled the number of new families they're serving over the last couple weeks, according to Linkenhoker.
"We had a family that shopped with us over the weekend, who came in, was really emotional, let us know they had donated to us in the past and never imagined they would need to shop at a food pantry," he said. "We’re going to be here, we’re going to be part of that solution and we’re going to continue to operate what we know how to do, which is run a food pantry."