Dallas County commissioners on Tuesday approved a $1 million donation to a local food bank to support those affected by the federal government shutdown.
As the shutdown continues, food banks and community organizations are under pressure to support the increased need for food assistance.
People enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will only receive half of the amount they usually get, and the payments will be delayed. The shutdown also creates uncertainty furloughed federal employees.
Trisha Cunningham, CEO of the North Texas Food Bank, said the sudden drop of SNAP benefits is “catastrophic.”
“I never thought I would see a crisis greater than COVID,” she told commissioners. “If you're looking at just Dallas County, with over $50 million per month of benefits being delayed, we know that those SNAP recipients cannot float that.”
More than 400,000 Dallas County residents receive SNAP benefits – almost 40% of those recipients are children.
Cunningham said of the 12 counties the North Texas Food Bank serves, Dallas County makes up 60% of the need and has the fifth-largest number of people who are food insecure in the country.
“SNAP is the most efficient program that we can use to be able to support food and security,” Cunningham said. “For every one meal that [food banks] provide, SNAP can provide nine.”
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins noted the Dallas City Council also has a possible donation it’s considering.
Typically, the North Texas Food Bank can provide about three meals per dollar with the support of donated food, Cunningham said. It stretches money by buying wholesale food from manufacturers or working with food producers to buy produce at a lower price.
Where to find resources
The North Texas Food Bank website has a map of support locations. The organization wants to utilize its partner network as much as possible, so it has a feature where people can search for the nearest food pantry based on their zip code.
But the organization isn’t just relying on food pantry locations.
“We know that most SNAP recipients actually work, or they’re children or senior citizens,” Cunningham said. “We want to make sure it's convenient for them to be able to get access.”
The North Texas Food Bank has mobile or “drive-thru” distribution sites during the weekends or evenings at locations like Dallas College. In collaboration with the county, the organization will establish secondary food distribution sites in zip codes with high numbers of SNAP recipients.
Cunningham said she’s working with 2-1-1 to ensure people receive up-to-date information. She also said she wants to work with the state health department to see if it can text SNAP recipients’ information about resources, but she noted there is still some “red tape” in the way of that.
How can people help
Cunningham said if people have the means and ability to support people personally, that can help ease the stress on the people having to adapt quickly to a change in their benefits.
“What I would urge the public is if you know someone who's on SNAP, ask what their benefit is and see if you can cover that,” Cunningham said.
She said the food bank could benefit from volunteers and donations. While food donations are helpful, she said the food bank can utilize cash donations more strategically. The North Texas Food Bank has an option online to register for a “virtual food drive,” where companies, organizations and groups can collect monetary donations and keep track of how much they’ve raised.
“If everyone can reach one and we can do these distributions, we can take care of our community,” Cunningham said.
Abigail Ruhman is KERA’s health reporter. Got a tip? Email Abigail at aruhman@kera.org.
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