Neighbors help neighbors — Community steps up as SNAP funding remains uncertain
Federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is uncertain, but the Newcastle community continues to rally to support neighbors at risk of going hungry.
Myra Gunnink, who has volunteered for the BREAD office at 627 Pine St. for several years, told the News Letter Journal that many businesses and community organizations routinely run food drives to help the pantry, whose only income for buying supplies comes from local donations. Every day the office is open – 9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday – someone donates food, supplies or money, she said.
“That’s the way it’s always been,” she said.
However, if SNAP benefits are unavailable long term, there is a risk that the BREAD office could be overwhelmed with customers, according to director Ken Pitlick. He told the NLJ that it is too early to know how much the lapse in funding for SNAP will impact the pantry. So far, only a couple of new customers have come in, and he anticipates there will be a few more.
In an executive order on Oct. 31, Gov. Mark Gordon authorized up to $10 million in state emergency funds to help ensure that Wyoming residents continue to have access to food if SNAP dollars run out. He directed the Wyoming Department of Family Services to work with the state budget director to distribute the funds to charities and churches with food banks and food pantries. DFS must also issue grant agreements to make sure the charities and churches have the funding to offer nutritional food, according to the executive order.
State statute allows the governor to spend up to $10 million from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account in a public welfare emergency, which is defined as a “sudden and unforeseeable event that threatens the health or welfare of the public and requires immediate action when no other funds are available.”
When federal SNAP funding resumes, the emergency relief will end, according to the release.
Pitlick said he is glad Gordon authorized the emergency funding because he believes many families rely on SNAP to eat.
Once a month, BREAD office clients receive commodity foods that the office receives through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, when items are available.
Food Bank of Wyoming receives food from the food bank in Denver, according to Pitlick. He said he believes the amount and type of food depends on what Denver has, and much of that food is donated from grocery stores, so the food bank does not know what it will receive until it arrives.
“I hope that the government gets it settled one way or the other so we have a better idea where we're standing,” he said.
BREAD serves about 100 “families” per month, Gunnink said. Family sizes vary from one person to seven. To be eligible to receive goods, families must meet USDA income guidelines and can come twice a month. About 40 family representatives came twice in October.
Gunnink said the office has never been open on weekends and believes it would be difficult to work those days.
Katelynn Domina, who owns tattoo studio The Doctor’s Office, is collecting donations at her studio for the BREAD office. She said anyone interested in donating may text her at 307-689-9463 or message her on social media to schedule a drop-off time. Donations may also be brought during her Walk-in Wednesday hours, which are typically 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., though she said she has lately been keeping the studio open in the evenings too.
For every four items or $20 donated, one entry is placed into a raffle Domina is holding. She said she will close the raffle on Nov. 25, but she intends to keep a selection of shelf-stable items on hand for those who contact her outside pantry hours.
“I think people having access to basic human needs like food and personal hygiene items should be a human right and not a matter of income,” Domina said. “It’s not even about politics or taxes or religion. It simply comes down to a belief that people don’t deserve to go hungry or feel unclean, regardless of where they are at in their walk of life. And the best way to support that is to support local resources directly. Start impacting those at home and see what changes.”
She said that she has been moved by how quickly people have responded.
“We can all look at the bad in this world and complain more, or we can try to do better, and I’m really glad there are others who also want to be a part of the better,” she said.
She urged anyone in need to reach out.
“Don’t be too prideful to ask for help if you need it, or too arrogant to assume you never will,” she said.
Sherri Merchen said she and her husband, Edward — who own Donna’s Diner — talked with their daughter, Haley Milholen, about making a donation to the BREAD Office. When they saw The Doctor’s Office was doing a food drive, they felt inspired to do the same, she said.
“I know lots of people are needing help with the government shutdown, so we wanted to do our part,” she said.
Donna’s Diner is accepting food and hygiene products from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily until Nov. 24. For every four items donated, the donor receives one entry into a raffle for a $100 gift certificate. The drawing will be Nov. 24.
According to Gunnink, the BREAD office receives most of its food from the Food Bank of Wyoming, which provides federal TEFAB commodities once a month. The pantry never knows what it will receive or in what quantity, and both can change from one month to the next.
“Sometimes we get a lot,” Gunnink said. “This coming month we're only getting three items.”
In October, the commodities included canned fruit, canned corn, plums, raisins and lentils, she said.
Monetary donations can be made directly to the BREAD Office charge account at Woody’s Food Center. Gunnink uses monetary donations to purchase food from the Food Bank of Wyoming that will make meals “at really good prices,” and those goods are delivered twice a month. She also buys eggs, bread and sale items from local grocery stores.
She said more customers are coming in, but people haven’t really been talking about SNAP.
The office needs meat and fresh vegetables, as well as volunteers, she said. The pantry has about eight steady volunteers and will always welcome more who can help stock shelves, unload deliveries and lift heavy items. Volunteers must be compassionate and able to lift heavy cases of food, she said.
Gunnink said the gratitude of those they serve is constant.
“I'm just glad we're here to help, and that we can,” she said, “but the only way we can do it, and the only way we've been able to do it is through the community, with the community's help.”
Gordon has also directed DFS to review which food items are eligible for purchase under SNAP and prepare a waiver request to exclude items with low or no nutritional value, such as candy. The state plans to phase in the change to avoid strain on retailers, particularly in rural communities.