Community members mobilize over SNAP food aid suspension

David Mitchell: Economic effects of SNAP interruption depend on how long it lasts.

Amid the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the Department of Agriculture on Oct. 27 announced “the well has run dry” for food aid benefits, and no funds will be issued Nov. 1 if the shutdown continues.

A warning from the Missouri Department of Social Services that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits would not be issued had been sent to state agencies a week prior, but the official announcement came just days before the funds were set to expire.

The Ozarks Area Community Action Corp. reports one in nine Missourians receives SNAP benefits.

In this developing story, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe announced on Oct. 29 that $15.6 million in state funding would be allocated to help people who will not receive their SNAP benefits. This includes $10.6 million for senior meals through Area Agencies on Aging and $5 million to local food banks. Kehoe noted there is no mechanism for the state to replace the SNAP benefits directly, which are given to recipients through a refillable debit-style card, but the Missouri Department of Social Services stands ready to issue November SNAP benefits as soon as it can when the government reopens.

Meanwhile, as of Oct. 28, at least 25 states, not including Missouri, have sued the USDA over its withholding of $9.2 billion in SNAP funds from 42 million recipients for November, according to national news outlets.

At Springfield Business Journal’s press time Oct. 30, the shutdown was still in effect, courts had not intervened and SNAP benefits remained rescinded for November.

OACAC meeting
Numerous businesses and social service agencies are working to ensure that the well does not run dry in the Springfield area.

OACAC convened a meeting Oct. 29 to bring social service agencies, churches, businesses and residents together to solve a problem, while multiple individual business leaders are mobilizing to help as they can.

At the meeting, attended by some 120 people at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library District, representatives of organizations who had help to offer spoke up to outline their resources and to offer their advice on donating.

Skylar Walker, director of OACAC’s Community Services Block Grant Program, convened the meeting by saying one of the tenets of community action agencies is to mobilize the community for needs like employment, housing, health and food.

“We want to mobilize the community; we want to coordinate our efforts,” she said. “We want to make sure that folks out there are getting the most accurate and up-to-date information in the community.”

Participants, who signed in electronically with their contact information, were urged to join work groups dedicated to collection, distribution or information efforts during the crisis period.

Among the organizations present: Ozarks Food Harvest, Community Partnership of the Ozarks Inc., The Salvation Army, SeniorAge Area Agency on Aging and CoxHealth.

Other organizations – some small and some large – were new to local food relief efforts, and the meeting offered them a chance to introduce themselves.

Gena Hedgpeth represented Branson-based Leftovers 4 Locals, an organization that collects food from tourists and locals and donates it to food pantries in Stone and Taney counties. She announced that her organization would be conducting a food drive in November.

Also present was David Edson, national director of U.S. hunger relief programs for Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corp. – an international charitable organization that is new to Springfield, having opened an office in the Queen City in July. Edson said his organization distributed 40 million pounds of food last year, including truckload distribution to local sites of food boxes that can feed a family of four for four days.

Another participant was Al Thompson, civics education coordinator for History Museum on the Square Inc. Thompson said the museum would be conducting a food drive through the end of the holiday season.

Thompson said a pillar of the museum’s civics education effort is serving people, and it’s important to be a place where the community can come together to support one another.

It’s not unrelated to the consideration of history, Thompson said. She cited the actions of people during the Great Depression, when many survived because of the support of their community.

“We can look back on the things that they did and see how people were able to band together as a community,” she said. “We’re a public organization. We care so much about our community. We’re a place for education, but when you’re hungry, you can’t educate yourself. Why wouldn’t a food drive be core to what we do?”

Mission informs giving
Kayla Buecker, owner of Celebrations on C Street LLC, is in the early stages of planning a community holiday meal at her princess-themed event space. She has multiple volunteers lined up, and she is still working to find donors of food and other support.

Buecker said she saw in a local mother’s group on Facebook what the impact of anticipated SNAP cuts would be, and, as a former recipient of SNAP benefits herself, she knew she had to do something.

She added that she is in the business of creating magical experiences for families, and that magic is not limited to magical times when everything is going perfectly.

“I have a beautiful, intimate event and gathering space on historic Commercial Street,” she said. “We would love to open our doors to the community one day in the coming weeks to be able to have a hot meal shared amongst friends in a safe space.”

While she wants people to get a meal, she said she also wants people to feel seen and heard and to know they are not alone and won’t be left hungry.

“No one is above needing help in some facet, and for so many people, that facet is finances,” she said. “Whether you want to believe people with government assistance are freeloaders or not, everyone deserves the human decency of being fed.”

Miranda Mitchell, owner of Garage Sale Guru, also says hunger is an issue that is near to her heart.

“I’ve had food insecurities,” she said. “There were times that I was not able to feed myself; there were times when I had to choose between feeding my daughter or feeding myself, and that is a very real experience that a lot of people in the area experience.”

Garage Sale Guru, started by Mitchell six years ago, coordinates garage sales, moving sales and estate sales for people. She announced on social media that for her next estate sale, set for Oct. 30, those people who brought two canned goods would receive $5 off any item.

“I’m not doing it for money,” she said, noting she also offered to help people who come by for home goods and furnishings. “If they can’t pay, they just need to let me know, and I will foot the bill for them.”

Paulina Najbar, a real estate agent who operates under the Keller Williams brokerage, found a way to give as well.

Najbar posted on social media her intention to buy groceries for some families in need – particularly those who are suffering because of the federal government shutdown.

“I don’t know if I can help everybody, but if I can make a difference for one or two families in need, that can go a long ways,” she said.

She added that buying a few loads of groceries will not make a big dent for her – “I’m very blessed and thankful for the things I have,” she said – but it could make or break a family, or keep children from going without.

Najbar said she got the idea from a client and friend, and that was the pebble in the pond that created a series of ripples.

“I’ve had other clients and friends message me and say, ‘Hey, I saw what you were doing – if you get multiple people reaching out, let us know – we’ll be happy to Venmo you money or help,’” she said.

Impact on economy
David Mitchell is professor of economic and director of both the Bureau of Economic Research and the Center for Economic Education at Missouri State University.

He said it’s tough to say whether the SNAP interruption would have an impact on the economy.

“It depends on how long it lasts, and it depends on how people are going to change their behavior,” he said.

Food is not a luxury, Mitchell said.

“People have this annoying habit of needing to eat food no matter what,” he said, noting spending habits might flux in the weeks to come. “Grocery stores might see some declines this week and next, but once this becomes established, people might go on a binge and do the exact opposite.”

If people typically spend $250 on food for the family, now that the money is not there, they may be less likely to spend money in other places, he said.

Mitchell said the amount of food being purchased will likely remain the same, but the people purchasing it might change.

“Other people will be stepping up because the right thing to do is to help other people in need,” he said.

If the shutdown is resolved soon, Mitchell said he doesn’t believe the SNAP interruption will make much of a dent in the economy.

“People can switch spending for a week or two – that’s not a huge impact,” he said.

But, Mitchell cautioned, if the shutdown lasts longer than that, there will be a noticeable impact.