With federal food assistance programs expected to run out of money at the end of the week due to the government shutdown, area food pantries are bracing for an increase in demand.
Noli Taylor is co-executive director for Island Grown Initiative, a nonprofit on Martha's Vineyard that runs the Island Food Pantry.
She said the impending cutoff of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—now known as SNAP and formerly known as food stamps—is unprecedented.
“SNAP benefits have never been delayed due to a government shutdown,” Taylor said. “We're already beginning to hear from partners at other social service agencies that people are reaching out as they prepare to lose their SNAP benefits.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and attorneys general in 24 other states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Tuesday, challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision not to use contingency funds to pay for SNAP during the shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani is expected to hear the case on Thursday. According to Reuters, she could issue a temporary restraining order forcing the USDA to use the contingency funds on November SNAP benefits.
Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket have some of the highest food prices in the United States, Taylor said. Island Food Pantry saw demand double with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Taylor said she expects it to rise again in both the short term and the long term. She noted that in the off-season of a seasonal community, some people see their incomes wane.
Island Food Pantry provides food to one in five year-round residents, and the nonprofit Nourish Nantucket feeds around 800 families per week.
Meg Browers is executive director of Nourish Nantucket, which has a food pantry, a prepared meals program and a grocery store card program. On Tuesday, Nourish Nantucket posted an article to its website outlining exactly how the community can help.
“Nantucket is a community that helps one another, so we're reaching out to the community in this time of need,” she told CAI. “If there's someone in need, we're happy to help, we want to help, so please reach out if you need food assistance.”
On the Vineyard, Island Grown Initiative is seeking volunteers and monetary donations, Taylor said. Because of the food pantry's partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank, which buys food in bulk, monetary donations go much further than food donations.
“Their food costs are much lower than what any of us would spend going to the grocery store, and they pass those savings along to the pantries they serve like ours,” Taylor said. “So, by donating funds to us, we're able to then purchase from the Greater Boston Food Bank at a reduced rate.”
Taylor encouraged those in need of food assistance to reach out to the Island Food Pantry for help.
“All of us need help from time to time,” she said. “And for food pantries, this is our whole mission, is to serve the needs of people who are struggling to put food on the table for any reason.”
