SNAP benefits are being partially withheld for the month of November due to the ongoing government shutdown. SNAP – or supplemental nutrition assistance program, is a food assistance program that provides monthly funding to low income households for groceries. Without these monthly benefits, recipients don't have a guaranteed method of affording food, causing many to utilize community resources to get help.
Crosslines Community Outreach is a nonprofit that provides resources and support for those in need. They have initiatives like a diaper bank, women's shelter, senior care program, educational programs for children in the foster care system, and a food pantry.
Jaimie Trussell is the president and CEO of Crosslines. She said they’ve had all hands on deck at the food pantry the last two weeks as people navigate their situation without their benefits.
“The pantry is mostly staffed by volunteers,” Trussell said. “ But last week every team here, and as I mentioned we have several programs here at CCO, we stopped what we were doing and we all worked in the pantry because they needed the help.”
Trussell explained that while they’re still receiving shipments of food from their partners like Ozarks Food Harvest and the United States Department of Agriculture, the demand is much higher than usual with the absence of SNAP benefits. She added that it only gets more challenging as the month goes on.
“SNAP benefits renew on a certain day of the month for everyone. So on November first, only the people whose benefits were loaded on November 1 were affected. So on November second, the people on the first and the second whose benefits were not reloaded as usual in November were affected,” she said. “And so the problem that we see is this month, everyday, it's going to get worse.”
She said as each group becomes affected, she expects the demand to get higher and higher. She noted that what she saw while at the pantry last week was heartbreaking.
“What I saw was just, again, fear,” said Trussell. “And just items flying off the shelf so fast. It astounded me because just the volume of individuals, we had a huge line. But also just how quickly the supplies that looked like they would last forever went off the shelves.”
There was a line of at least 30 people outside the doors Tuesday morning, about 40 minutes before the pantry even opened. Trussell said that after going through the pantry Tuesday morning, they were down to just two types of produce, plums and potatoes. Some things, she said, they don’t have at all right now.
“We had apples last week, and we don’t have apples this week,” she said. “And you think about, I mean my family takes apples for granted, right? Who couldn’t walk in their kitchen and probably have an apple. And for our families, that's a luxury.”
Trussell said those affected can use their resource guide on their website or they can work with a Crosslines case worker who can help them navigate their situation. She explained that while the awareness is new, the crisis has always been there, and the best way to get help is to take advantage of the agencies that have already been working on solutions to the crisis.
“The challenge is, those one off solutions are not a systemic solution, and there are a lot of agencies here who have really honed a good way of helping the neediest people,” said Trussell.
So, she said, she encourages people to use those agencies as a resource. She added that community support is vital.
“It is only through volunteer labor and volunteer advocacy and hosting a supply drive at your work, or supply drive at your civic organization,” said Trussell. “Those are volunteer hours that make the difference.”
Trussell said sharing any information or resources, and volunteering and donating however you can makes the biggest difference.
The Salvation Army Springfield is another area nonprofit seeing an increase in demand this month. They provide shelter, food assistance, financial assistance and youth programs to the community. Their food pantry saw a record high of new faces last week, according to Major Amos Shiels, the co-pastor and co-administrator of The Salvation Army Springfield.
"I think we had about 50 more families then we normally do, than our highest in the last year," he said.
With the increased demand, comes the impact on supply, he said. The Springfield pantry has been navigating the situation by exploring ways to get additional supplies.
"We're working with Ozarks Food Harvest in seeing what options we have as far as being able to purchase additional food," said Major Shiels. "But we're also providing meals to individuals that are available to anyone."
Major Shiels said people can sign up for their senior lunch program at their main office at 1707 W. Chestnut Expressway, as well as a daily Monday through Sunday community lunch at their Harbor House on N. Boonville Ave.
He said that donating is the best way to help but that even unwanted food from businesses or organizations can be a helpful resource for the daily lunches they operate.
Major Shiels said people can visit their facebook page or website to see what resources they have available, and see additional resources other organizations have.
