New Hampshire’s emergency food system is preparing for an imminent pause to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, used by more than 1 in 20 state residents and as many as 1 in 8 residents of some communities in the capital region.
“We expect that we will see more of an increase,” said Meghan Straw, director of the Loudon Food Pantry, which last month served 7,600 meals to 277 people from four towns.
Straw said applications to the pantry always go up this time of year, as heating costs leave folks with less money for food, but even a temporary pause to food assistance programs would accelerate that.
Starting Saturday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will delay issuing SNAP benefits, which are used by about 75,000 New Hampshire residents. They are among an estimated 40 million people across the country who receive some form of food assistance.
New Hampshire is rolling out a stopgap measure to help, spending $2 million in state funds to pay for 20 mobile food pantries open to SNAP recipients only. The state gets an estimated $13 million in SNAP benefits from the federal government each month.
In Concord, the Christ the King Food Pantry is preparing to distribute food assistance to SNAP recipients as a satellite for the capital area.
The food pantry has seen increased demand since it inaugurated its new facility last month, coinciding with heightened anxieties around a lapse in federal food assistance.
It’s hard to discern which of the two has contributed to a greater number of clients seeking aid, but the organization is doing its best to prepare, said Bryan Westover, who volunteers sourcing the pantry’s food supply.
The food pantry has placed a slightly larger order this month, about 20% more than usual, with one of its suppliers, Associated Grocers of New England in Pembroke. Food pantry leaders put out a call for volunteers to join the distribution rotation for SNAP recipients — “we very quickly got a good response,” said Westover.
“I heard someone mention that if we got through COVID, we can get through this. We had to completely change how we did things, but we made sure there was food available for those in need, and we’ll find a way,” he said.
Some dispute exists over whether SNAP benefits should be cut off. The USDA says funding for the program has “run dry” due to the ongoing government shutdown, caused by Senate Democrats refusing to support a funding package that slashes federal health benefits. Some advocacy groups argue that federal law requires the USDA to use contingency funds to keep SNAP going, but the department has refused.
Bills to keep SNAP funded through at least November have been submitted in the U.S. Senate but failed to get enough votes.
SNAP dates back to the Great Depression and a 1939 law to provide food assistance to low-income individuals and families. It has changed many times over the years, including the transition to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards in the 1990s, streamlining the distribution of benefits. If no resolution emerges before Nov. 1, this would mark the first lapse in SNAP benefits in history.
It’s unclear if unused benefits on EBT cards will be usable after Nov. 1.
Information about mobile food pantries and food assistance is online at the New Hampshire Food Bank and the state health department website.
