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Families throughout mid-Michigan are preparing for the possibility that food stamp benefits won’t come in November.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will stop being distributed Nov. 1 if the federal government remains shut down, saying “the well has run dry.”
Jackson resident Stevie Grow said the benefits help feed her family of five, including three children. She is counting on local food banks to help bridge the gap if food stamps run out.
“We’re just hoping for the best, praying that they’ll come through for us, and hopefully it doesn’t last forever,” Grow said.
But food banks are already feeling the pressure.
Erica Estelle is the development director for the Salvation Army Jackson Corps. She says the food pantry has already cut back on hours, opening for distribution just one day a week, and may have to reduce the amount of supplies given to each family if demand increases.
“We get people who had to walk here from a very long distance in inclement weather, and it’s very disheartening to see that we can only provide them with limited resources because we have so many people to help,” Estelle said.
Greater Lansing Food Bank spokesperson Katlyn Cardoso says the best way people can help is by making monetary donations to food banks.
She says food banks can make the money stretch farther than customers can, turning each dollar into up to three meals.
“Really the way that oftentimes we address challenges like the potential for delays in SNAP benefits is by really coming together as a community and, again, neighbors helping neighbors,” Cardoso said.
Attorney General Dana Nessel joined dozens of other states in filing a lawsuit against the USDA for “unlawfully suspending” SNAP benefits, saying the agency has access to billions of dollars in contingency funds.
“If the reality of 42 million Americans going hungry, including 1.4 million Michiganders, isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is,” Nessel said. “It is cruel, inhumane and illegal to hold back emergency reserves while families struggle to put food on the table.”
Nessel will hold a press conference on the lawsuit tomorrow.
SNAP benefit recipients can check MI Bridges for updates and reach out to their local Michigan Department of Health and Human Services office with questions.
Those in need can locate nearby food banks and other support services on the Food Bank Council of Michigan’s website or by dialing 211.
WKAR reporter Noé Hernandez contributed to this story.
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