PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One of Philadelphia’s largest community food banks is preparing as many economically challenged families are set to lose key funding that helps them put food on the table.
At the end of December 2022, the federal government announced that took away emergency allotments for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The decision goes into effect in March 2023. The extra payments for families were initially put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal move does not totally eliminate SNAP benefits, but the extra allotment from the pandemic.
Philabundance said that the number of people in need of assistance has shot up by 60% compared to the rate before the pandemic.
“When COVID started, we saw many more people accessing the charitable food network,” said Philabundance CEO Loree Jones Brown.
“In our area, in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern [New] Jersey, there are over half a million people designated as food-insecure. They have a tough time ensuring that their families have access to fresh, healthy food on a daily basis.”
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In 2022, with gas prices and inflation going up, Jones Brown said even more people turned to food banks.
In March, they’re expecting even more people to come in need of help.
“We’re really worried,” she admitted. “More people are accessing the charitable food network because of the economy. People had these additional dollars, and those dollars are going away.”
She also says that SNAP helps provide extra support for families during the summer.
“We know what happens in the summer when kids are not in school and not getting access to school breakfast and lunches,” said Jones Brown. “We’re really concerned that our families who’ve gotten used to this additional money, it’s all gonna go away for them next month.”
To prepare, Philabundance is working with other nonprofit organizations, as well as the federal government, to serve those who depend on the charitable food network once that extra SNAP money goes away.
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