DELAWARE - For Hope Davis, who relies on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, her monthly $295 she receives doesn’t stretch far enough.
SNAP chart from DHSS.
“It’s a joke. But I’m grateful for it,” Davis said, referring to the amount she gets. “Otherwise I have nothing.”
SNAP benefit amounts vary based on income relative to the federal poverty level, household size and disability status. But for many recipients, the assistance doesn’t cover all their grocery needs.
That uncertainty has Davis worried about where her next meal will come from.
At Casa San Francisco, an emergency food pantry in Milton, Michael O’Brien said they’re working to fill that gap.
“They get a free bag of dry goods, and then we have a walk-in freezer with three meats — chicken, ham, hamburger, sometimes fish — depending on what we get from the food bank or USDA,” O’Brien said.
But O'Brien says even those federal food shipments have become unpredictable.
“We usually get one every month,” O’Brien said. “We won’t be receiving any in January or February, and they don’t know when after that. You can see how depleted everything gets — this is probably two weeks’ worth of food, and it’ll be gone.”
With the uncertainty surrounding both SNAP benefits and food supplies, O’Brien said the pantry is preparing for an influx of families seeking help in November.
Thursday Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester introduced the SNAP BACK Act, a bill that would reimburse states using their own funds to administer SNAP benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown. Blunt Rochester criticized Republicans for allowing the shutdown to jeopardize access to food aid, saying states shouldn’t have to divert money from other critical services to keep residents fed.
Both Delaware Governor Matt Meyer and Maryland Governor Wes Moore have declared a state of emergency just days before the expected pause on funding for SNAP benefits.