Expected lapse in SNAP benefits puts food banks in crisis

The phones at Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison have been ringing off the hook for a week.

Most of the callers are fearful about how they’ll feed their families if Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are cut off Saturday as expected, said Executive Director Karen Snair.

“I fully expect our resources will be pushed to the max, and we are doing all we can to ramp up those resources in preparation of an increased need,” said Snair, whose group serves 600 families a month at the food bank on Freeport Road in Harrison.

Across the state, 2 million people are in jeopardy of losing food assistance if the federal government shutdown continues. The program doles out $68 million in benefits each month.

The potential lapse is causing local food banks to scramble.

“We are in crisis mode,” said Lisa Scales, president of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne.

“Where we usually see up to 150 people a day at our onsite pantry, we are seeing that many in the morning session alone. We are here to complement SNAP, not replace it.”

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, held a news conference at the food bank to demand her colleagues reopen the government.

“We are coming up to the edge of a cliff,” Lee said, citing the second-longest impasse in history. “We are getting calls that won’t stop, items disappearing from food bank shelves quicker than ever and parents skipping meals so their children can eat.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration to demand the USDA use billions of dollars in federal reserves to fund SNAP, at least for November.

The suit is by a coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia that alleges the government is unlawfully suspending the anti-hunger program, which in Pennsylvania serves 714,000 children and 697,000 senior citizens.

Jennifer Miller, CEO of the Westmoreland County Food Bank, said her facility serves 15,000 people a month. Referrals to the site doubled last week, but that only counts people who reached out to the food bank directly. The number was probably higher, she said.

“I’ve been on the front lines of hunger for 28 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Miller said.

About 46,000 people in Westmoreland County rely on SNAP, along with 160,400 people in Alle­gheny County, 15,450 in Butler County and 10,290 in Armstrong County, according to the state.

Deb Thackrah, executive director of nonprofit Feeding the Spirit, is bracing for Thursday’s free meal distribution in Greensburg. The agency has seen an influx in people coming to the drive-thru.

“I’m sure it’s going to be worse starting this week,” she said.

Last week, volunteers doled out 344 meals. That’s up nearly 25% from an early-October handout of 278 meals.

Thackrah asked community members to be aware of blessing boxes where they live and keep them stocked with food.

“That’s the way that we’re going to help each other now, is everybody doing a little bit extra,” she said.

Jess Felici, a pastor at Latrobe’s Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, said 30 people were turned away from the food pantry this month after an unexpected turnout.

At the church’s free luncheon Tuesday, Felici said, “there were faces in the double digits that we’ve never seen before. Many of them were young people.”

Felici anticipates a continued increase in need and issued a plea to the public for extra donations of nonperishable items.

“We want to prepare ourselves for households that find themselves in a bind of making the decision whether their money can go to food or other needs,” she said.

Snair fears that food banks “haven’t begun to see what’s to come with SNAP benefits on hold.”

“We are so blessed to be in a community that supports these efforts with food drives and financial gifts to assist more families and meet the need as best we can,” Snair said.

Margaret Ledbetter of Wilkinsburg doesn’t qualify for SNAP benefits, but her sister relies on them.

“She’s older, and they help tremendously,” Ledbetter said. “She’s really gonna be affected in a negative way if they shut them off, especially just before the holidays.”

The Rev. Brenda Gray, from the nonprofit Project Destiny, which provides services for Pittsburgh children, said she worries about the fallout of the SNAP shutoff — mental health issues and crime among them.

“Hunger doesn’t have a face,” Gray said. “It’s about everyone. We have a large senior community in Pittsburgh, and I worry about how they’re going to fare.”

Staff writers Renatta Signorini and Jeff Himler contributed.