SNAP delays prompt response from area food access advocates

The federal government shutdown has delayed SNAP benefits payouts nationwide, prompting New York State and Dutchess County governments to distribute millions of dollars in aid to food banks and pantries.

Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino announced on Friday, Oct. 31, that $1.5 million in reserve emergency funds would be distributed to food pantries across the county. The county plans to distribute $150,000 per week for 10 weeks to pantries across Dutchess.

The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program — commonly referred to as SNAP or food stamps — has never faced a delay in benefit payouts in its modern history.

Volunteers at the Food of Life Pantry — run by Amenia’s St. Thomas Episcopal Church and Charlie Paley of Sharon — said they expect the freeze in SNAP disbursements to strain a community that is already under stress.

Jim Wright, warden of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, said keeping the food pantry stocked has become more difficult as free and reduced-price food from the Albany-based Food Bank of New York is increasingly scarce. He added that ongoing cuts to funding and staffing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have only exacerbated the problem.

That scarcity has pushed the pantry to lean harder on other organizations such as the Tenmile Farm Foundation in Dover Plains, which Wright said has delivered 24,758 pounds of fruits and vegetables to the pantry this growing season.

“What’s been happening since late January is that there’s been less and less food that’s either free or lower price,” Wright said. “So many of our partners have stepped up.”

The Tenmile Farm Foundation is part of a network of like-minded organizations in the Tri-corner region of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts that collaborate to promote access to nutritious, locally-produced food at an accessible price or for free.

The North East Community Center’s Food Programs Director Jordan Schmidt heads up the network — officially known as the Tri Corner Nutrition Security Coalition — as part of her role in charge of the community center’s food pantry and outreach programs.

Among the coalition’s partners is Tri-Corner F.E.E.D., which offers an alternative to traditional pantries. Linda and James Quella of Sharon, Connecticut, formed the organization and opened a market in Millerton that sells locally-produced groceries at subsidized prices.

Blake Myers, manager of the Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. Market on South Center Street in Millerton, collaborates with the coalition. She said the coalition has been closely monitoring local residents’ access to food, allowing its member farms, pantries and nonprofits to quickly redirect supplies when needs arise.

Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. operates a market with tiered pricing. Customers can sign up to buy groceries either at full price, at a 30% discount or at a 60% discount depending on their need.

Myers echoed Food of Life volunteers’ concerns about the community’s increasing dependence on local food pantries.

She said food pantries are supposed to be a resource in emergencies. “What’s happened is that they are now a regular resource that people need in order to feed their families,” Myers said. “This case of the SNAP benefits being cut is an emergency emergency, because there’s already so many families that are barely scraping by.”

The Rev. AJ Stack of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia said the most effective way to support the Food of Life pantry is through cash donations. “We can purchase things at much lower prices elsewhere,” Stack explained, adding that every dollar goes further when the pantry buys in bulk from its suppliers.

Myers offered a similar perspective when it comes to supporting Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. She told The News that customers with the means can best assist the nonprofit by purchasing items at full price — providing revenue that helps fund the market’s mission to offer affordable food to those in need.

“All of our shoppers here are by word of mouth,” Myers said. “Which is really important to me, because I wanted the experience to be something that people wanted to return to and feel comfortable.”