Regional food bank Ozarks Food Harvest has been addressing the needs of Federal Workers who are missing pay due to the federal government shutdown. They are now preparing to address an even greater need, should SNAP benefits be halted for November.
Jordan Browning, Communications Director for Ozarks Food Harvest told KSMU they spent an extra $30 thousand on food for two events serving local federal workers earlier this month. He said they are now preparing to spend an additional $500 thousand dollars to support impacted SNAP enrollees across the 270 partner agencies they work with in their 28-county service area.
Browning said the halt in SNAP benefits comes at a time when families are already dealing with rising grocery costs and other economic pressures, and organizations like his are dealing with an increase in need. “All of this is coming Unbudgeted,” Browning explained. “So, this is putting strain not only on us, but on our agencies across the board. And it will be a very significant challenge because this is no longer a mostly Greene County issue. This is becoming a 28-county issue, and we're going to treat it like a disaster because it is.”
He encourages those able to support Ozarks Food Harvest with a donation, to volunteer their time and to advocate for awareness of food insecurity in the region and the impact of the shutdown.