With SNAP benefits on hold due to the government shut down, nearly 1.4 million Michigan residents are going into November without vital assistance.
Food pantries and soup kitchens are trying to fill the gap, but people struggle to figure out where to go.
211 Michigan is a free 24/7 call line that connects people with local health and human services resources depending on their individual needs. The organization keeps a large food assistance database and is able to direct callers to their nearest food pantry or soup kitchen based on their zip code.
The Central Michigan 211 office serves 10 counties: Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe and Shiawassee. Six other offices serve the remainder of the state’s counties.
Central Michigan 211 Program Supervisor Evelyn Mercer said each phone operator in her office takes anywhere from 60 to 100 calls on an average day. Since the government shutdown, she said, the number of calls has only grown.
Mercer said many calls come through with people weighing whether to pay their utility bills or to buy groceries.
“We always encourage to pay that utility, because there’s always the food pantries,” she said. “That is going to be easier to get help with.”
Mercer said that advice will stay the same, even as SNAP benefits are halted, as there are more alternatives to food pantries. However, she said that as food pantries supply is diminished, strain may be put on local soup kitchens as well.
“I wish we could say we had a definite plan of attack,” Mercer said, “but right now it’s kind of a wait and see.”
Mercer encourages SNAP participants and other Michigan residents to contact 211 to learn more about local resources. Even if the operators don’t have a perfect solution, she said, they do have empathy.
“A lot of us have had to utilize the services within our system ourselves,” she said. “We are human. We do understand that struggle, and we want to be there and help, even if it’s just maybe a listening ear.”
