‘A sad reality’: Food banks, grocery stores, residents expect to feel the strain from impending SNAP benefit expirations

Dozens of volunteers sifted through huge pallets overflowing with 40,000 pounds of pears fresh off a truck from the Wenatchee Valley on Tuesday afternoon at Second Harvest distribution center in Spokane.

They piled the fruit into smaller boxes that will be sent to food banks in Washington and Idaho.

The massive operation stocks the shelves for more than 200 food banks and other services in 26 counties. Second Harvest, “the food bank for food banks” distributed 35.5 million pounds of food last year, or 18 semitrucks worth of food each week.

Even with all that food, food banks like Second Harvest won’t be able to fill the need left by the impending pause on food stamps, or the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, from the government shutdown.

“SNAP distributes about nine times as much food as the charitable food system; it’s very large,” said Eric Williams, community partnerships director at Second Harvest. “We know from past, whether shutdowns or similar things, when SNAP benefits are paused, people come to the food bank.”

As it stands now, the federal government won’t fund SNAP beginning Saturday. That will affect 40 million Americans, including 83,000 people in Spokane County who use the program to help them afford food.

“These are payments for low-income households that need to eat,” said Ryan Herzog, associate professor of economics at Gonzaga University.

Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Tuesday that the state of Washington will direct about $2.2 million per week to food banks starting Monday.

But the money won’t offset the entirety of the SNAP cutoff.

As people turn to food banks without SNAP funds available, grocery stores and some convenience stores that serve that population will be absorbing revenue losses.

“I would imagine the stores in the Logan Neighborhood will be impacted. The impact is certainly going to be felt on grocery stores, particularly those grocery stores servicing low-income communities,” Herzog said.

Most SNAP recipients don’t purchase brand-name goods, but they will likely still immediately change their buying habits.

“You are going to see a shift. They will buy, if they are not already, the cheapest foods. You’ll see stores running out of the products, like packaged noodles, Top Ramen. It’s not good,” Herzog said. “It’s not going to be a good outcome for these families or these grocery stores.”

As for the local economy, the SNAP dollars represent a large portion of some stores’ revenue. Herzog said the average local family gets about $185 a month. If you multiply that by 83,000 recipients, that’s more than $15.3 million not flowing into area stores.

“SNAP is not a savings account. They are not getting a big chunk of change,” he said. “I think the maximum is $1,000 a month for a four-person household.”

Food banks are bracing for an influx of patrons, with many already seeing longer lines and emptier shelves.

“It’s like COVID-level anxiety amongst folks,” Williams said.

Second Harvest is looking for more volunteers, soliciting more donations and encouraging people to give directly to food pantries and spreading awareness to those in need about their options around their communities.

“We’re doing everything we can to pedal faster and harder and get more food in,” Williams said.

Eternally optimistic, Williams expressed gratitude for Second Harvest’s 9,000 volunteers and donors. Running a food bank, he has to consider the glass is three-quarters full at any given time.

“You got to be optimistic,” Williams said. “But, right now, it’s about half full and maybe a little lower.”

Monetary donations, Williams said, are the most helpful to food banks during this time. A large portion of Second Harvest’s donations are fresh produce from farms around the region, but they always have a need to purchase nonperishables.

About 50 miles north in Chewelah, volunteers at a small food bank are confronting the same growing demand on a much tighter scale.

Polly Davidson, volunteer and board president of the Chewelah Food Bank, recalled that not too long ago, a young woman was sitting outside the food pantry in tears.

Davidson said the young woman told one of the volunteers she felt bad for depending on the food bank – something she hadn’t needed to do before.

“Our volunteer said, ‘This is what we are here for – to help people,’ ” she said.

But after last month’s increase in numbers caused them to run out of supplies, the food bank is now worried about a shortage of commodities, knowing the federal government won’t fund SNAP benefits next month.

According to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, nearly 2,000 people in Ferry County, more than 3,500 in Pend Oreille County and over 10,000 in Stevens County rely on SNAP to buy food.

In September, Davidson said they served 215 individuals and 97 families. The average family they serve includes four to six people, with the largest being 14, she said.

“We have quite a few families of six, but the kids need to eat,” Davidson said. “We need to feed the kids.”

Colleen Antoine, assistant manager of the food bank, said they get their food supply from organizations such as Rural Resources, a nonprofit that provides resources and support across northeastern Washington, and NEW Hunger Coalition, which distributes food to 18 pantries across Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.

Although Antoine expects the food bank will get by through November and December, she said some items are already running low and could become scarce if more families come in.

Right now, cereal, bread, milk and juice are among the items most likely to run out.

“We’re trying to be optimistic, because this is scary,” Antoine said.

Stephani Smith, executive director of NEW Hunger Coalition, said the nonprofit already has distributed 80,000 pounds of food this year, nearly 20,000 pounds more than last year.

Some of the food pantries to which they distribute include the Chewelah Food Bank, Northport Food Bank and the Curlew Community Food Pantry.

“Loon Lake Food Pantry is the busiest food pantry we have,” Smith said.

Smith said that knowing demand will continue to rise, the nonprofit is brainstorming with Providence on organizing a food drive from November through January to help aid rural communities in northeastern Washington.

The goal is to get 1,000 pounds donated each of those months and then hoping the rest of the community will match the amount.

They plan to place a donation box at Providence Mount Carmel Hospital.

“We will use our distribution system to box and distribute it out to the 18 rural food pantries in our three counties,” Smith said.

Smith added items like cooking oil, canned foods and shelf-stable milk make especially helpful donations for people who want to support their local food banks.

The impending cutoff of SNAP funds was heavy on the mind of volunteers at Second Harvest on Tuesday, some regular volunteers and some there with coworkers on company time.

“Now with the impending cuts, it’s just so important to be able to support food-insecure people in our community,” said volunteer Sylvia Oliver.

She has family working in schools and spoke to the importance of Second Harvests’ Bite2Go program that distributes bags of food to schoolkids to sustain them through the weekend.

Bite2Go, Williams said, will be unaffected by SNAP cuts. There are over 5,000 kids in Spokane Public Schools receiving these meal kits.

“It’s a huge relief for parents to feed their kids on the weekends and after school,” said school spokesperson Ryan Lancaster, adding that all kids get free breakfast and lunches in the district.

Herzog said he worries that families will turn to whatever means possible to get food.

“When people need to eat, they turn to the food banks. When the food banks run out, they will find food elsewhere,” he said. “You worry about an increase in crime. If I’m a parent and I can’t find money for my kids, you are going to find food.”

Most of the local residents who rely on SNAP payments are older, disabled or young mothers with children at home.

“They can’t just go take a job at Amazon with care for kids or parents. You are putting families in an impossible situation,” Herzog said. “We are pushing families to the brink of making a decision where they can’t afford food.

“We, in this country, should never get to this point. It’s a sad reality.”