With the demand for food at record levels in Schuylkill County and grocery prices still high, this week’s state budget passage and the recent end to the federal shutdown provided a much-needed boost to organizations helping to feed those in need, officials said.
The state and federal stalemates resulted in the busiest month ever in Schuylkill for Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank, which distributed 284,000 pounds of food across the county in October, said president Jay Worrall.
That was a monthly record for the nonprofit food bank in Schuylkill, which began serving the county in 1985, he said. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization was averaging between 50,000 and 60,000 pounds per month in Schuylkill.
The recent rise in need was stemmed in part by the freeze in food stamp benefits brought on by the federal shutdown, he said. That prompted more families to seek food from Helping Harvest, and forced many clients to seek more food than usual, Worrall said.
About 26,000 people in Schuylkill receive food stamp benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and delays in receiving those payments meant many of them would have missed meals without help from food banks and pantries, he said.
On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services announced it had issued SNAP payments for all Pennsylvania recipients for November, a process made possible by the ending of the federal shutdown and the release of those benefits, officials said. Emergency SNAP payments will also be able to resume for approved applicants for the rest of November, and December benefits will be issued on schedule at the start of next month, officials said.
Grocery prices remain historically high, though, Worrall said. That inflation, combined with recent reductions in federal food stamp allocations to clients, means many are still struggling to feed themselves and their families, he said.
“We anticipate that the higher level of food insecurity will be staying around for a while,” he said. “With the cost of food being so high, the SNAP benefits that people receive aren’t going as far.”
The Pennsylvania budget approved on Wednesday includes an estimated $1 million for Helping Harvest, which represents about five percent of the organization’s $20.5 million budget, That money will allow it to buy food that supplements its donated food, Worrall said.
The state and federal money being released will also help prevent interruptions of the housing, food and self-sufficiency programs run by the nonprofit Schuylkill Community Action, said CEO David Young.
“This stability ensures we can keep meeting the needs of local families,” he said of the state budget passage.
“It’s truly a win, not only for our local community but for the entire state. The increased investment in education, early learning, and community-based programs will have a lasting impact across Pennsylvania.”
The state budget includes an additional $4 million to support the entire Schuylkill Food Network, he said. While Schuylkill Community Action doesn’t yet know its specific allocation, it anticipates receiving a larger share than in previous years, which will directly strengthen its local food distribution efforts.
One area that Young hoped to see included was the Whole Home Repair Program, an initiative that was supported by the governor and local legislators and would have provided critical resources to address and prevent blight, he said.
“That is something especially important in Schuylkill County, which has the oldest housing stock in the state,” he said.
Hunger-Free Pennsylvania issued a statement on the state budget passage, referring to the plan’s “modest increases in programs designed to fight food insecurity in the commonwealth.”
“This is a positive step, especially with the additional state support, but much more will need to be done over the long term to ensure every Pennsylvanian has enough to eat,” said executive director Stuart I.R. Haniff. “Maybe this show of unity and cooperation is a sign of better things to come — because hunger isn’t a partisan issue. It affects every legislative district, every community, and every neighbor we serve.”
