×

Effects of shutdown linger for those on food stamps

Times file photo Food bank volunteers load groceries into cars waiting at the Washington County Fairgrounds in late February during a special food distribution. The Southeast Ohio Food Bank released numbers recently showing that during the 35-day federal government shutdown early this year, demand for services from food pantries in the region increased by about 10 percent over last year.

The Southeast Ohio Foodbank said in a recent statement that the impact of the 45-day shutdown of the federal government early this year is still being felt by people whose SNAP benefits were disrupted by the closure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, widely known as food stamps.

A dispute between the White House and Congress over allocating money for a wall at the border with Mexico closed all but services deemed essential from Dec. 22 to Jan. 25. In early January as the argument dragged on with no end in sight, the state of Ohio elected to shift the issuance date for benefits in January, February and March, making budgeting difficult for many of the low-income beneficiaries.

The number of people newly seeking assistance from food pantries in the region was up significantly compared to the same period last year, the foodbank said.

“Last year, the Foodbank saw 1,273 new faces in February. This year, there were 1,657 new people,” a statement from the Southeast Ohio Foodbank said.

Food bank executive director David Keller said Tuesday he believes the impact of the confusion over SNAP benefits remains a lingering problem for some people.

“I can almost guarantee some people are still being affected,” he said. Keller said the food bank serves 70 member agencies in Southeast Ohio which report monthly on the demand they see.

“We know in February there was an absolute pop. It’s typically our slowest month, and we saw 500 new families,” he said. “There’s no other explanation I can think of, and for March I can guarantee the demand was up.”

Keller said misinformation on SNAP benefits got around through word of mouth and social media, with some people believing, for instance, that the additional benefits added in February to make up for the government shutdown uncertainty had to be spent before March or they would be taken back, which was untrue.

“These are people who already are in a precarious spot, on fixed or insufficient incomes, and they build their lives around these program schedules,” he said. “It’s easy to get confused when you’re in a vulnerable position.”

One of the groups most affected, he said, was seniors on fixed incomes.

“They’re just scraping by, and it isn’t like they can decide to go out and get an extra job to boost their incomes,” he said.

Keller said the benefit schedule seems to have stabilized for April, but he’s also on the lookout for people who were denied applications or kicked off the program during the shutdown.

Candy Waite at the Gospel Mission Food Pantry on Lancaster Street said demand during January, February and March seemed about the same as it has in previous years.

“These are hard months for people, but there wasn’t a significant difference this year,” she said. “We are having people come in from Belpre, Waterford, New Matamoras, and it’s a blessing to see them, to know they won’t be going without.”

Waite said she sees a range of people, some regulars and some new, at the pantry.

“We had an elderly lady come in today I hadn’t seen before, and she said she’s on Social Security and there’s not much left after she pays rent and buys medicine,” Waite said. “She said being able to come here takes a load off her, not having to worry about food.”

Jennifer Farnsworth at the Newport Community Food Pantry said about 250 people a month come in for food. To meet expected additional demand, the pantry held an additional food giveaway March 2.

Food pantries in Washington County

•3C Food Pantry, 4550 Two Mile Run Road, Cutler.

Hours: Third Friday of the month, 1 to 7 p.m.

Serves: Wesley, Fairfield and Decatur townships.

Contact: 740-516-1707.

•Belpre Church of Christ, 2932 Washington Blvd., Belpre

Hours: Thursdays 5 to 6:30 p.m., first Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Serves: All of Washington County.

Contact: 740-350-6301.

•Beverly-Waterford Food Panty, 307 Seventh St., Beverly

Hours: Tuesdays, 5 to 7 p.m., second and fourth Thursdays, 9 to 11 a.m.

Serves: Waterford and Waterford townships.

Contact: 740-984-4651.

•Gospel Mission Food Pantry, 309 Lancaster St., Marietta

Hours: Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Serves: Washington County.

Contact: 740-350-4417.

•Lowell Area Mission Basket, 309 Walnut St., Lowell

Hours: Second and fourth Wednesday, 9 to 11 a.m.

Serves: Lowell and Adams townships.

Contact: 740-896-3266.

•Marietta Church of God Food Pantry, 501 Colegate Drive, Marietta

Hours: Last Friday of the month, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Serves: Anyone within a 25-minute drive.

Contact: 740-374-9910.

•Marietta Community Food Pantry, 318 Front St., Marietta

Hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Serves: Washington County.

Contact: 740-373-5741.

•New Matamoras Food Pantry, 100 Stover Road, New Matamoras

Hours: Third Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Contact: 740-568-8679.

•Newport Community Food Pantry, 245 Greene St., Newport

Hours: Third Saturday, 8 to 11 a.m., and the following Monday 4 to 6 p.m.

Serves: Anyone within seven miles.

Contact: 740-473-2900.

•Salvation Army, 136 Front St., Marietta

Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Serves: Washington County.

Contact: 740-373-4043.

•Tri-County Food Pantry, 103 Main St., Lower Salem

Hours: Third Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., third Wednesday, 8 a.m.to 4 p.m.

Serves: Washington County.

Contact: 740-585-2143.

• Western Washington County Food Pantry, 18 High St., Vincent

Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursdays 1to 4 p.m.

Serves: Barlow, Warren, Dunham and Palmer townships

Contact: 740-678-1065

• Belpre Area Ministries

Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Serves: Belpre and Little Hocking area

Contact: 740-423-2069

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today