Over the weekend, food pantries were swamped across Michigan as uncertainty continued over the future of a federal food aid program for low-income families.
An overflow crowd showed up Saturday at Flint’s main library for a weekly food giveaway.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to meet (this) kind of massive need,” said children’s librarian Robert White, who directs the library’s food pantry, which only opened in September.
Layoffs, and inflation pressing grocery prices higher, were already increasing demand for food assistance in Michigan. A pause to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, tied to the federal government shutdown is adding to the problem.
Crystal Travis is with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. She said the rising need is taking a toll on the more than 600 local programs the food bank works with.
“Some of them have had to actually close because they just don’t have staff and they don’t have the capabilities to kind of run these distributions at this time,” said Travis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, planned to withhold $8 billion needed for payments to the food program starting on Saturday — until two federal judges ordered the administration to make the payments. Trump said he would provide the money but wanted more legal direction from the court.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell in Rhode Island ordered that the government needed to tell the court by Monday how it would fund SNAP accounts. McConnell, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration needed to either make a full payment by Monday, or if it decides to only tap $3 billion in a contingency fund, figure out how to do that by Wednesday.
“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown,” McConnell wrote in his order.
But that still leaves uncertainty about whether the department will use additional money or only provide partial benefits for the month. The SNAP program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and costs about $8 billion per month.
Benefits were already facing delays because it takes a week or more to load SNAP cards in many states. Some governors and mayors have stepped in, using what money they have available to fill the program that feeds about 42 million Americans.
The federal government is shut down because Congressional funding has lapsed. Democrats have refused to vote to fund the government unless the spending bill includes measures to prevent looming spikes to the cost of health insurance for tens of millions of people.
With federal food aid on hold, Michigan cities and towns are looking for ways to meet the need in their communities.
In Flint, the city plans to use money from a national opioid settlement and federal COVID relief funds to provide bi-weekly food aid to city residents starting at the end of this week.
The city is also partnering with local food banks and religious leaders — including Reverend Aaron Hicks, who said the situation calls for mutual support.
“In times like these, we have to look out to help one another. We have to have compassion for one another to see how can I help my brother,” said Hicks.
