Surging demand for food donations in Kentucky foreshadows what may be in store for millions as a pandemic-triggered increase in monthly food stamp benefits ends.
HAZEL GREEN, Ky. — As he claimed the first spot in a mile-long line for free food in the Appalachian foothills, Danny Blair vividly recalled receiving the letter announcing that his pandemic-era benefit to help buy groceries was about to be slashed.
the Biden administration and state leaders can take away assistance without exacerbating a growing food insecurity crisis. Motorists waited up to nine hours for free food at the Hazel Green Food Project in Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 24. Authorized by Congress in the early months of the covid crisis, the emergency SNAP allotments allowed 41 million recipients to receive an increase in food stamp benefits, helping families at a time when businesses were shuttering, schools closed and uncertainty abounded.
Now, Hamler-Fugitt expects many of the state’s 1.5 million recipients will also be scrambling to find food assistance, adding she projects the benefit reductions will remove $120 million from Ohio’s retail economy each month. “Let’s ask yourself, should SNAP benefits be a way of life?” he asked."Now we know it is for some. Should it be a way of life for adults?”In Kentucky, a state that has been hit particularly hard by the collapse of the coal industry, entrenched poverty and hunger have been generational problems that state and federal officials have struggled for decades to address.
“The message I have shared with colleagues all across the country is here’s what we experienced when the emergency health declarations were rescinded,” Halligan said. “You should expect the same thing. You will see it within 30 to 60 days after those benefits sunset.” At the food giveaway on Feb. 24, the mile-long line of vehicles snaked down Kentucky Route 205, a stretch of highway that also includes a Dollar Store, Uncle Sam’s Gun & Pawn Shop and Bites and Bargains homestyle restaurant.Further down the line from the Blairs, Elizabeth Conley
A few cars away, Courtney and Beatty Stone parked in the line around 10 a.m. and settled in for a three-hour wait. Now, the couple said they struggle to afford even their monthly supply of what they consider to be staple foods. But as he took another hit of his cigarette, Courtney said he was slowly coming to accept his predicament.As stories of human suffering emerge, political leaders in some states are considering ways to soften the impact of the SNAP benefit reductions.
“Even though I am proud that New Jersey is on the right side of history, America has become a patchwork quilt set of states,” said Murphy, citing different state policies dealing with health care, gun regulations,Instead of a state-by-state approach, social service advocates hope that Congress reconsiders food stamp funding when it takes up the five-year reauthorization of the farm bill this year.
As 74-year-old Martha Miller and her daughter, Mary, waited in line, they said they’ve started using centuries old Appalachian Mountain cooking tips to save on food costs. Tolsen, a tobacco and corn farmer who went bankrupt after a flood took out his crops in 1997, saw his monthly food stamp benefit reduced last year from $240 to $30 a month.
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