JFCS Food Pantries Prepare for the Storm
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – On November 1, the official pause on SNAP benefits began as the government shutdown continues, creating a significant gap in food assistance for over 42 million Americans. This situation has placed immense pressure on food assistance programs across the country.
“Food is a right,” said David Finke, CEO of Jewish Family and Career Services (JFCS), to WAVE News. “We cannot survive as people unless we have food, and we do not want to put up a barrier to people having that right.”
JFCS is already working hard to support those who are without assistance. Their food pantry provides personal care items, packaged and canned goods, and fresh foods for families on a client-choice basis. The pantry also offers kosher and halal options to meet cultural and dietary needs.
However, shopping at the pantry, rather than in a store, may soon be the only way some families can access basic necessities. Finke mentioned that the pantry has seen an increase in calls and clients expecting the freeze on benefits. They even opened once outside of their regular hours to provide emergency help to those in need.
“It’s pretty devastating for families. So if you think about, for example, if you, this past week, are a family of four, maybe, and you get $800 or so in food stamps… you’re coming to the end of the month. And so you’ve already spent your $800,” Finke explained. “And so today, on November 1, you don’t have that money all of a sudden.”
Annual trends show a consistent rise in the need for food assistance beginning around November. Finke expects that this year, the demand could overwhelm the area’s food banks and pantries.
“It’s something like $16 million a month goes into SNAP benefits for the Louisville area,” he said. “If our community continues to rally this month, we’re not going to be able to rally $16 million of benefits. And so we’re still going to have gaps in our services.”
To address the growing demand, JFCS has waived zip code restrictions and limits on how often a client can visit. They have also added hours of operation on Wednesdays to meet the need.
This situation has forced JFCS to make difficult decisions, such as borrowing attention and funds from other services to accommodate the demands of the food pantry.
“At the very moment when some of our holistic services at JFCS should be helping these families find work, or deal with the stress from a mental health standpoint, or deal with socialization for people that are locked in their homes, we can’t do that because we’re diverting some of those resources to the food pantry, because of the demand and the increased calls,” Finke said.
In the meantime, the food bank is turning that frustration into advocacy. Finke told WAVE that JCPS helped with research for a recent court hearing, calling on the government to reopen SNAP benefits.
“We’re not a party to that lawsuit; however, we did provide evidentiary information about the impact that these loss of benefits are gonna have to our community and nonprofits such as the JFCS,” he noted. “We felt it was an obligation to help support those families both directly and also in that more systemic way.”
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