Demand at Utah food banks was rising before the government shutdown. Now, with SNAP benefits on pause for November, they expect to see more people and even higher demand from those who already rely on food banks.
To compensate, the state has pledged $500,000 a week to Utah Food Bank to support Utahns who rely on federal government food assistance, up to $4 million.
That includes Ogden restaurant manager Jessica Martinez. She felt a little nervous as she stood in the food pantry line for the first time. She relies on the government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to cover about half of her grocery budget for her and her two hungry sons.
She started to look for options after learning she would not receive SNAP money in November due to the federal shutdown.
She considered a second job but expected finding one to be tough. Plus, she cherishes time at home with her kids. So she decided to get help from the Catholic Community Services food pantry in Ogden.
Picking out cereal from the shelf, she commented that the food bank felt like a grocery store. Rice, produce, canned vegetables, bread and raw meat all made it into her cart. Martinez also found a bag of treats for her dog, Ghost, and a big tray of cookies for her sons, aged 11 and 18.
“They definitely would be mad if they found out I didn't grab that,” she said with a laugh.
Martinez received more than she expected. It would make a big difference, she said, since she was already running low on things for the boys to eat between meals.
“I think my kids will be happy when they come home from school and see everything's in there,” she said.
Martinez didn’t feel judged. And now, she said, she won’t have to worry about finding more work.
“There was a lot of people here getting help, and there's a lot of people here helping,” she said.
Help is exactly what Durrell Annis, office manager at Catholic Community Services in Ogden, wants to give. Recently, when a new client complimented her nails, she gave the woman the bottle of nail polish right off her desk. People come to the nonprofit when they’re in a very vulnerable situation, she said.
“We just want to make it just a little better and a little easier for them.”
The Ogden food pantry feeds about 1,800 families per month, according to Annis. Food items are arranged on shelves with indicators of how many each client can take, depending on their family size.
Roughly 200 new families have applied just this week, Annis said. New clients report their income and family size before accessing resources. She expects more new clients when SNAP cards no longer work.
To support the large federal workforce in the area, the food bank will also allow furloughed federal workers to access services even if they wouldn’t normally qualify based on income. Fewer than 20 people have taken advantage so far, Annis said, but she thinks more will come as they continue to miss paychecks.
Without SNAP, returning clients have also asked to shop twice a month instead of once. The nonprofit’s suppliers are not equipped to meet that demand, Annis said.
While some items are donated by grocery stores, a good chunk of resources comes from the Utah Food Bank.
The state’s $4 million commitment is significant, said Ginette Bott, president and CEO of Utah Food Bank, but it won’t allow food pantries to double their offerings. They distributed over $2.5 million worth of food each week, on average, in the last fiscal year, and it’s too soon to say where Utah Food Bank will direct the additional funds.
“What we're doing is looking at counties, looking at how many people are actual SNAP recipients in those counties, figuring percentages based on that,” Bott said.
Still, it will help during a difficult time. Most service providers are seeing an increased need right now, according to Bott, and the state’s funds will help strengthen the distribution process and get something, albeit not everything, to all 29 counties.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
