One of three vans full of groceries bound for food-insecure Seniors.
On November 1st, the Trump Administration’s US Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided to withhold emergency benefits previously set aside by Congress to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits can continue to flow in case of a government shutdown. Through a tumultuous legal battle, the status of SNAP benefits remained a looming question for over two weeks. For around half of Washington’s 500,000 SNAP recipients, benefits were not guaranteed.
These cuts hit our program participants hard. Guadalupe, one of our Senior Meals participants, said, “SNAP is very necessary for us.” Though she is retired and receives Social Security, she still has mortgage and medical bills to pay, leaving SNAP as her primary source of food.
HIP immediately noticed the effect and stepped into action. On the first day of SNAP cuts, we began receiving emergency hunger relief funds from the City of Seattle to address the gap in benefits. Here is how we responded:
- All existing programs received a temporary budget increase to enable them to feed more people. This meant an increase in the amount of food in our typical meals and HIP Packs. It also meant providing more avenues for people to receive food through our programs, such as take-away grocery bags.
- HIP reached out to its partners in the area (e.g., low-income housing units, community organizations, schools, and Tent City 4) to assess their needs. We then provided free groceries, meals, and sandwiches to everyone who needed them.
As a result, we sent tons of groceries and meals throughout North King County to those in need. We are thankful to all of the volunteers and community members who helped us distribute this unprecedented amount of food. Though the federal government may have reopened, the fight against hunger continues. Together, we can ensure that nobody goes hungry.
If you have any questions, please contact info@hungerintervention.org.
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