Food Pantries See Increase in Use During Federal Shutdown
By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
OTSEGO COUNTY
The Cooperstown Food Pantry has reported its visitors have doubled over the last month. The Oneonta Salvation Army saw increases of use as much as a third. Already burdened by a cost of living crisis, the stoppage of SNAP benefits on November 1 as a result of the government shutdown has driven even further need for affordable groceries.
“SNAP is a concern, but heat is also a major concern right now,” Cooperstown Food Pantry Executive Director Will Kleffner told AllOtsego. “Heat bills are rolling in and HEAP applications are not available right now in the government shutdown.”
Millions across the country have been impacted by the shutdown and its corresponding stop in SNAP benefits as of November 1. Kleffner said some have driven to the Cooperstown pantry from as far as the Albany area to get help.
Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that New York State would be acting to fill the gaps.
“New York State has issued full SNAP benefits to all eligible households,” read a November 10 statement on the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance website. “Those who expected to receive benefits yesterday and today have received them and were able to spend. Others will continue to receive their benefits throughout the week.”
Otsego County Administrator Steve Wilson shared that the SNAP stoppage has had a “minimal impact so far and the Governor issued full SNAP benefits to recurring recipients beginning [Sunday] and expected to reach all recipients by Thursday.” He wrote that, “We have also been handing out pamphlets to clients listing all of the food pantries and other resources available for food. In addition, for seniors 60+, we are seeing minimal impact. Some seniors still have benefits on their card from previous months, or are utilizing local food pantries until their November benefits are resumed. We are working with the handful of cases that have expressed an immediate need and either connecting them to a food pantry or providing meals from our Central Kitchen.”
Still, those benefits may take time to fully kick in. Already seeing more than 900 visitors in October, the most since November 2017, the Cooperstown Food Pantry expects to serve over a thousand people this November.
Kleffner said there’s also a supply side issue. Between the federal government’s new tariffs and cuts to the United States Department of Agriculture and its Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, Kleffner said he has seen the cost of cans of food rise from about 10 cents to 65-70 cents per can.
When SNAP benefits stop, there is also a broader impact than those who lose their benefits. Suppliers lose customers, including local farmers.
At the same time, donations have gone up.
“When things are tight, you would think the donations would drop, and some of them will,” Margie Aitken of the Oneonta Salvation Army told AllOtsego. “But you’ll also hear people as they give, who say they’re still surviving, and sometimes they might even be on the cusp of needing our assistance, but they’ll come by with a couple of dollars and they’ll say, ‘You know what, I was there once, and you helped me.’ And that just touches your heart every time.”
Kleffner said the same has been true at the Cooperstown Food Pantry. The local NAACP, Girl Scout Troop 61019, Indivisible, and more have been running food drives. If possible, he said, they would also appreciate monetary donations so the pantry can buy in bulk to meet their specific needs.
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