Starting Nov. 1, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will not be reissued due to the ongoing government shutdown, a move expected to leave roughly 700,000 Wisconsin residents without FoodShare.
Jackie Anderson, executive director of Feeding Wisconsin, says food banks are already seeing a surge in demand following the announcement. She emphasizes that SNAP participants include about 100,000 children and many seniors.
“We are already starting to see an influx because of the messaging that went out last week,” she says. “There was some messaging that was encouraging people to use their SNAP benefits before the end of the month. So we saw a lot of people who were scrambling to try to use their benefits.”
Anderson says some pantries that typically serve about 350 families a week are now seeing upwards of 500 visitors, many of whom have never needed food assistance before. To meet the growing need, food banks are asking for more community support, especially financial donations, which allow them to stretch funds further through wholesale purchasing.
Schools and community groups are also preparing for an increase in need. In Rhinelander, for example, a school’s backpack food program has already tripled the number of families requesting weekend meals.
At the same time, food donations are slowing, leaving pantries in a tight spot, Anderson says.
“People are needing additional food, and the food donations aren’t coming in quite as quickly as they had hoped,” she says. “That seems to be the trend.”
