As the federal government restored SNAP benefits Wednesday for more than 100,000 Central New Yorkers relying on the program, local food bank leaders warned the crisis is far from over.
Inside the warehouse at the Food Bank of Central New York, volunteers dodged forklifts while assembling meal bags stacked with canned fruit, chili, corn, oatmeal and cartons of milk. It’s part of an effort to meet an unprecedented surge in demand.
“For every meal the foodbank distributes alongside our partners, SNAP provides nine,” said Food Bank President and CEO Karen Belcher.
During the six week historic government shutdown, the food bank had to cover all meals.
Looking at her ledgers, Belcher said, the Food Bank saw demand jump a full 99% between the first weeks of November and the month prior.
“Our level of food going out is higher than during the pandemic,” Belcher said.
Giant pallets of food fill the warehouse just days after the Food Bank experienced its largest delivery to date.
“On Monday, the 235,000 pounds that went out to Herkimer and Oneida is the highest day that we have ever distributed in our 40-year history,” she reported.
For longtime volunteer Joe Wrobel, the scale of need became impossible to ignore. Amid the high demand, the Food Bank asked him to come on full-time.
Over those years, he has witnessed the tradeoffs families have faced when food is scarce.
“A tear comes to your eye because, you know, they're starving,” he paused, then continued, “some of these kids especially are starving, and it's really sad to see.”
“If they have to decide between food or paying for heat, it's very difficult for families to make that decision,” said volunteer Nicole Dezuba. “It would be nice if government decisions didn't affect individual families so much,” she added.
Belcher said she is grateful benefits were restored, but warned uncertainty remains, as funding for the government expires on January 31st of the coming year.
“We could see another partial shutdown. So, you know, the SNAP benefit piece really impacted this current one,” Belcher said. “But having our military, our federal workers not paid, that was starting to lean into some of this need as well. So we don't want to see that happen. There's a residual impact from this.”
As long as uncertainty looms, the volunteers and employees at the Food Bank of Central New York will continue working knowing there are many more mouths to feed.
Anyone in need of food assistance can visit New York State’s federal cut impact website, which will link to a directory that connects residents to their local food bank or food pantry. It also provides a Service Finder Tool giving New Yorkers a link to state and local resources such as housing, heating, and employment assistance.
