By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — State advocates fear the current food pantry system is stressed now and may be overrun if food stamp benefits end due to the government shutdown.
Speaking at a press conference Friday focusing on the potential shortcomings with the end of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits next month, advocates said elected officials should not play politics with the food security of children, families and the elderly.
They worry additional services needed to help the 76,000 people in the state will put a tremendous strain on the food pantry and food bank system, as well as hurt the local economy and disrupt school stability if families and children go hungry.
They called on the US Department of Agriculture and the Trump administration to use its $5 billion contingency fund to continue the program past the beginning of November if the federal government shutdown continues.
The Trump administration has said the fund cannot be used to continue the benefits for the program and several others that would end Nov. 1 and instead needs to be retained for an emergency.
“Regardless of this shutdown, the USDA absolutely has the dollars and the authority to use contingency funds to pay out SNAP benefits as well as WIC (Women, Infants and Children) benefits,” said Maureen Milliken of NH Hunger Solutions.
“The Trump administration is making a choice to play politics with the food security of the American people and the economic security of our communities. All of us need to let the administration and the USDA know that this is unacceptable, that they need to fund SNAP and WIC and make sure Americans don’t go hungry.”
She said currently food pantries tell her they are seeing unprecedented volumes of people needing food, and are seeking additional food and doing more fundraising to try to meet the needs.
“They are worried they may have to turn people away before this even starts,” Milliken said. “It is nearly impossible for the emergency food system to meet the needs that are out there.”
While it is good the state has approved $2 million to help with additional mobile food banks for those on SNAP benefits, she said, it will not be nearly enough.
The SNAP program offers many more options than food pantries can provide and allows families to tailor their foods to their needs such as if some have to have a gluten-free diet, Milliken said.
Melody, a Derry single-mom with a son in Kindergarten, qualified for food stamps Sept. 29 and said it was the first time in a long time she has been able to breathe.
The food stamps paid for 100 percent of her grocery bill, she said, and allowed her to put more food on the table than when she held a $70,000 a year job.
“Our daily life has improved significantly, not having to worry about how we are going to eat,” Melody said. “And to have that relief ripped away so quickly has been disorienting.”
She said she is really scared heading into November, noting the current state plan is insufficient at best.
“There should be concern when our leaders willingly allow their people to starve. A society is only as good as it treats its most vulnerable members,” Melody said. “Every family deserves stability, dignity, and the ability to put real food on the table. New Hampshire families, and all families, deserve better than this. We deserve leaders who protect programs like SNAP so our kids can grow up strong, healthy, and ready to learn.”
Megan Tuttle, President of the NEA — NH, said having students come to school hungry is a significant problem.
“It really is as simple as the fact that kids can’t learn if they’re hungry,” she said. “So when a child walks into school worried about what they’re going to eat next, it’s nearly impossible for them to focus on reading, math, science, social studies, and any of the arts classes that they’re taking.”
She said education is facing a crisis with the ending of SNAP benefits.
“Congress and the Trump administration have slashed funding for essential nutrition and food assistance programs, programs that fuel learning, lower grocery bills, and strengthen our local economies,” Tuttle said. “These cuts threaten to take food off the tables of children, working families, seniors, and yes, even some educators in our state.”
By refusing to use the available tools and the contingency fund to continue benefits, 76,000 Granite Staters, including 25,000 children, could lose their SNAP benefits, she said.
“This is an avoidable and unconscionable crisis,” Tuttle said. “So let’s be clear about this. Allowing hunger to worsen is a policy choice, and it’s the wrong one.”
She said it is imperative the federal government find additional funds to fill the gaps so New Hampshire families living with food insecurity don’t have to rely on charity or skip meals to survive this political gridlock.
“Hunger should never be used as leverage in a political fight,” Tuttle said. “Every child deserves the chance to learn, grow, and thrive, and that starts with proper nutrition.”
MacKenzie Nicholson, of Moms Rising, said families are stretched thin, while lawmakers in Concord will try for another corporate tax cut next session which will only help the wealthy and corporations, while everyone else will pay more.
“Groceries cost more than I’ve ever known, rent is sky high, the gas and utilities keep climbing, and childcare, if you can even find it, can cost more than a mortgage,” Nicholson said.
“Every one of these costs chip away at a family’s ability to put food on the table, and that’s what makes this current situation so devastating.”
Yet politicians in Washington and in Concord are playing politics with people’s livelihoods and dinner plates, she said.
“(They are) using hunger as a leverage to protect tax breaks for the ultra-rich and corporations,” Nicholson said. “SNAP isn’t just another line item in a budget, it’s a lifeline.”
Families can’t tighten their belts any further. They are already out of notches, she said.
“We should not have to crowdfund for basic human needs,” Nicholson said. “When we deny families food assistance, we aren’t just taking away meals, we’re taking away stability, dignity, and the chance for our kids to learn and grow.”
The federal government shutdown is approaching the longest on record, which is 35 days during Trump’s first term in office.
Trump and Republicans blame Senate Democrats for not voting for a continuing resolution to keep government operating, although they control both houses of Congress and the Oval Office.
Because 60 votes are needed to end a filibuster in the US Senate, the Senate needs some Democrats to vote in favor to pass the resolution.
Democrats want the subsidies retained for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace that were not funded in the budget bill approved by Congress in June, but Republicans at Trump’s urging are refusing to negotiate with Democrats until government is open again.
Without the subsidies, or tax credits, insurance premiums will double or triple beginning this coming federal fiscal year which is expected to result in millions of people no longer being able to afford health insurance.
Most federal government employees are going on a month without a paycheck which includes the military, and federal agencies including and air traffic control and transportation safety agency workers.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.