Thousands of people on Oregon’s North Coast are poised to lose access to food stamps beginning Nov.1 and local food banks say they won’t be able to fill the gap.
The Trump administration has refused to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the ongoing government shutdown. If nothing changes, the program will be suspended starting in November. More than two dozen states, including Oregon, are now suing the Trump administration over the issue.
At a meeting this week to discuss issues and challenges that Astoria-based social service agencies and organizations face when it comes to addressing homelessness, City Councilor Andy Davis asked about SNAP benefits: How prepared is the community for the loss of the program?
Dustin Martin, chief operating officer for the Clatsop Community Action Regional Food Bank, said he has been through several government shutdowns, but SNAP benefits were always funded. He noted that more than 40 million people nationally rely on the program. There is also a food industry built around the program — grocery stores, food producers and others — representing hundreds of millions of dollars of sales.
Martin hopes all of that will push the government to action.
“So that’s my optimistic view,” he said.
But: “Let’s say it doesn’t get funded,” he said. “They don’t come up with any funding… and people do not get their SNAP benefits the first part of November and all those people decide to run to the food banks and food pantries, we’re in trouble. We’re gonna run out of food. Maybe not completely out of food but we’ll have a few scraps of something laying around.”
Martin said the regional food bank is trying to collect as much food as it can.
“But,” he added, “there isn’t a magical warehouse somewhere that is stocked with food for these type of events.”
The regional food bank relies on the federal government and the food banking industry as a whole. In addition to providing food directly to people, the regional food bank also distributes food to community pantries, shelters and other local programs. The bulk of all the food they distribute — 80% — is brought in from outside Clatsop County.
Martin said the regional food bank distributes 1.3 to 1.5 million pounds of food annually in Clatsop County. Of that, around 460,000 pounds goes to Astoria.
Andrea Burch, deputy director with Clatsop Community Action, said they have received a number of calls from people asking how they can help if SNAP is suspended. The agency is working on a mailer to inform people about how to donate online or in-person to community programs. Martin said food and money donations will help.
This week, the Astoria School District also sent out a message to families providing information about local food resources if SNAP benefits are suspended. The Astoria School District, like other school districts in the county, currently provides free meals to all students.