Help is on the way for several Washington County nonprofits who help the hungry.
The assistance comes days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that there would be no Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits released in November due to the continuing government shutdown.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners met on Thursday and approved $250,000 in one-time funding for 10 area food shelves serving Washington County communities.
About 10,400 Washington County residents or roughly 5,000 households receive SNAP benefits, according to information relayed by the county during the meeting. The average benefit in Washington is about $5 a day or $310 a month per household.
“While this is a challenging moment,” said Director of Community Services Jennifer Castillo during a presentation to the Board during the special meeting, “we also see this as an opportunity to demonstrate our county’s ability to be nimble, respond quickly to crisis and compassionately.”
Besides SNAP recipients, the government shutdown is also affecting federal workers who are either furloughed or working without pay during this time, bringing some first-time users to seek help with food.
Jessica Francis, the executive director of Open Cupboard, was one of the nonprofit leaders to speak at the special meeting. The nonprofit organization operates a drive-up option for groceries in addition to a free market in Oakdale and Maplewood.
“I told them we had increasing numbers yesterday that were higher than the day before, which were higher than the day before,” Francis said later.
The county will offer these food shelves the following amounts in funding:
Open Cupboard: $75,000
Basic Needs: $37,500
Valley Outreach: $37,500
Family Pathways: $37,500
Friends in Need: $18,750
Hugo Good Neighbors: $18,750
St. Andrew’s Community Resource Center: $6,250
Community Helping Hands: $6,250
Mahtomedi Area Food Shelf: $6,250
Scandia Marine Food Shelf (Elim Lutheran Church): $6,250
The allocations were determined based on organization size, volume of traffic, communities nearby and proximity to households of SNAP recipients, according to Washington County.
This help would be in addition to the state aid of $4 million for food shelves, announced on Monday by Gov. Tim Walz.
Other counties
Meanwhile, Dakota County is asking the public to step up to fill the gap for its approximately 10,000 residents who could go without their food benefits in November.
“Knowing how this will affect communities, Dakota County is aggressively encouraging our residents to support our local food shelves by making a donation or volunteering,” said Mary Beth Schubert, a county spokesperson, in an emailed reply to a Pioneer Press inquiry on Thursday.
One example is a post that Dakota County recently shared on its Facebook page.
“Many Dakota County families are affected by the ongoing federal shutdown,” the post reads. “About 10,000 residents will not receive SNAP benefits in November. Local food shelves are already seeing increased requests for help. Make a difference by donating food, volunteering your time or contributing funds to a local food shelf to support your neighbors in need. Every action, no matter how big or small, helps make sure everyone in our community has access to healthy food.”
The post directs people to get more info at co.dakota.mn.us/HealthFamily/PersonalFinance/FinancialCrisis.
In addition to multiple social media posts raising awareness, Schubert said on Friday in a follow-up email, the county “will continue to think of new ways to get the word out.”
In Ramsey County, any plans remain to be announced.
“We don’t have anything to share on this right now,” said Casper Hill, a Ramsey County spokesperson, when the Pioneer Press reached out on Thursday.
However, Catholic Charities is offering free community meals and other services available at Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Place campus, a spokesperson told the Pioneer Press. Info at cctwincities.org.
‘You are not going to make everyone drop dead’
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At the same time, a federal judge out of Boston was considering the request by 25 Democratic-led states, including Minnesota, to keep the funding flowing.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani seemed to be leaning toward requiring the government to put billions of dollars in emergency funds toward SNAP, the Associated Press reported.
“If you don’t have money, you tighten your belt,” she said in court. “You are not going to make everyone drop dead because it’s a political game someplace.”
Talwani acknowledged that even ordering emergency funds to pay for SNAP might still be painful for some SNAP recipients because it could mean they get less money and that the money they do get could be delayed. “We are dealing with a reality that absent a 100% win for you, the benefits aren’t going to be there on Nov. 1,” she told the plaintiffs.
Imani Cruzen, Mars King and Frederick Melo contributed to this report.
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