Connie Shaw has relied on the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as food stamps – in some measure since 1993, when she was adjudicated to be fully disabled. These days, she lives on $1,070 a month in Social Security benefits, of which $400 goes to rent, and $181 a month in SNAP through Wisconsin’s FoodShare program.
“I’ve never been able to just fill up the cart and check out,” Shaw, 65, said in an interview Thursday. “I have to watch every dime, every day, every time.”
When you’re living on the margins, Shaw said, access to food is about more than staving off hunger. It can be fundamental for stability.
“Knowing you can eat kind of makes your day,” she said. “If you know you’re out of food and out of money, your whole life begins to swirl the bowl.”
Shaw’s SNAP benefit was set to increase to $191 per month in November, but she is one of 700,000 Wisconsin residents who will likely get nothing – at least for the time being – due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Wisconsin’s FoodShare program is funded exclusively by the United States Department of Agriculture, which has notified states that it will not be able to fund SNAP programs beyond November 1.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wrote to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the administration to use reserve funds to continue funding the program.
“Empty cupboards and stomachs are not abstract outcomes,” Evers wrote. “They are the very real and near consequences of the dysfunction in Washington. These are also consequences you can prevent today.”
Meanwhile, food pantries and food banks are “bracing” for a sharp increase in demand.
“We’re just bracing like other food pantries,” said Rhonda Adams, executive director of The River Food Pantry. “Just trying to do what we can to serve our community. Nobody will be turned away. We might be challenged by this, but again, I want to assure people that they are going to get food.”
The River serves about 4,000 people every week during the 22 hours it’s open, as well as through delivery and other services. Adams said she couldn’t speculate as to how much demand will increase if FoodShare is not funded next month.
“My crystal ball isn’t that big,” she said. “We’re hunkering down as best we can.”
Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, which supplies food to several hundred local food pantries and other organizations, is built to adapt to challenging conditions, said Marketing and Communications Director Ted Jun.
“We’re going to continue doing what we’re doing — working in partnership with organizations that are directly distributing food to guests and neighbors in their communities,” Jun said. “Nothing in that is going to change with whatever decisions are being made in D.C. or Madison.”
Jun said that despite federal and state announcements that November benefits for FoodShare will be delayed, it’s not clear how long that delay will last and what might happen after it’s over.
“There seems to be more uncertainty than answers. There’s a lack of clarity on how programs are being funded,” he said, which exacerbates difficulty in preparing.
Adams said the best way to help local food pantries is to donate money, though nonperishable food items are also welcome. Jun said donating to local food pantries in your community is the best first step, but a foodbank like Second Harvest can also support more rural organizations.
“If there is an organization in someone’s community that distributes food and meals, absolutely donate to them,” Jun said. “Conversely, donating to a food bank is also incredibly powerful. We’re able to support pantries that might be more rural and don’t have the economic benefit of being in Madison.”
The delay in FoodShare funding is coming at a particularly difficult time, as the holidays approach. The Goodman Community Center’s annual Thanksgiving baskets, for example, were all allocated in less than five hours, Adams said.
The state Department of Health Services, which administers FoodShare, said on its website that the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits will remain available, and BadgerCare Plus, Medicaid, and SeniorCare are not impacted by the shutdown.
Recipients concerned about losing FoodShare benefits are urged to call 211 and inquire about other options for assistance.
For her part, Shaw said she will continue to scrape by.
“We don’t beg for food stamps, and I also don’t feel all that entitled,” she said. “I’m grateful for the help. So whatever I can get, I make the best out of it.”
