Although the government shutdown is coming to an end, SNAP benefits have yet to be fully restored, which is impacting people across the United States.
The government shutdown led to a suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is a program that over 40 million Americans rely on according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many Americans had to turn to food pantries during this time.
While Wayne does have resources available that existed before the shutdown, the rising need meant that their resources would be spread thin. The Northeast Nebraska Health Department began to assist in gathering donations to help ease the burdens of the food pantries.
The department provides grants to low-income people in the counties of Wayne, Dixon, Thurston and Cedar. Peggy Triggs, the Director of Services, said the department needed to adapt to help people amidst the shutdown.
“This is an unusual circumstance,” Triggs said. “We have a grant that is called a community response where we provide services to people in need on a short-term basis. So, if someone needs rental assistance or transportation or medication help financially, we go through the Social Determinants of Health Questionnaire.”
Triggs said this questionnaire helps determine who is facing food insecurity and would benefit from a referral to a local food bank.
“This has come up that there’s been such a need with the food banks with SNAP stopping that [low-income people] have exceeded the number of times they can come to the food pantry,” Triggs said. “If they are over-exceeding, then those food pantries are now sending them to us for the emergency food bank while SNAP is still down.”
Triggs said that the health department now has a program for people to get food. People who need assistance can visit the department from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. They will fill out a questionnaire to determine their needs and will be given a box of food as well as a voucher. The voucher can be redeemed for eggs, milk, meat, fruit and vegetables at Pac n Save, across the street from the department.
Although the shutdown is coming to an end, Triggs and others have said that SNAP’s restoration will likely not be immediate, and that low-income families will need help until then. Teresa Bartlett is a pastor at Wayne’s First Presbyterian Church, which has a food pantry of their own. Bartlett said that there haven’t been any substantial changes in need in the past week, but there is still uncertainty for the near future.
“We’re anticipating there could still be some accelerated need between now and the end of the month, because we don’t know how fast benefits are going to get relayed,” Bartlett said. “There’s some discussion that people will have to reapply. Benefits may be readjusted… We’re still going to continue on a regular path until we see if there’s some need to make an adjustment.”
Food insecurity has numerous impacts on health, both physical and mental. Karen Granberg is a political activist in Wayne who has been a resident for over 35 years. Granberg has helped lead weekly protests on Main Street against the current governmental administration. She explained the impact that food insecurity has on people.
“People who rely on food assistance are really frightened about not having enough food to feed themselves and their families,” Granberg said. “And that creates a great deal of stress in their lives, and stress is a precursor to illness… The issue for the ending of this particular situation is that we never know when another situation is going to arise that will jeopardize food sources and housing sources and healthcare again.”
“The community has been working really well together,” Triggs said. “Some have been doing drives, others have been doing food pantries. We just want to get the word out that anyone in need can get help.”
Northeast Nebraska residents who are in need of assistance with food, health or similar things can call the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department at 402-375-2200. People who would like to help can donate cash or non-perishable goods at the health department, the First Presbyterian Church, or at Pac N Save. Additional resources can be found on wayneamerica.org.
