Southeast Alaska Food Bank patrons have doubled since the beginning of November. Director Chris Schapp said demand continues at the highest it has ever been. One of the main reasons is the long-running backlog of applications for food stamps. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food stamps which is part of the Division of Public Assistance.
“We’ve been flooded with requests for assistance,” he said. “A week isn’t a day when I don’t meet fresh faces.”
According to him, Southeast Alaska Food Bank is set to provide over 500 million pounds food items in Juneau this year, an impressive figure that shows what is needed to feed around 150 people every week. The food bank hasn’t run low of food or had to cut down services, thanks to some assistance from the state.
It’s been around two months since the governor. Mike Dunleavy reallocated $1.7 million from other state programs to help replenish the food banks that are drained and to meet the growing demand from Alaska for food. The move was made in reaction to the public revelation of the backlog in food stamps which has caused many Alaskans waiting for months to receive aid. State officials have indicated that it could take some time in order to bring SNAP back in order. It leaves organizations like Southeast Alaska Food Bank Southeast Alaska Food Bank to try to fill a massive demand. The food bank has spent around two-thirds the $150,000 of state funds it received in March.
“We’re still purchasing food items and working maintain our shop and warehouse as stocked that we are able to. However, the food is going out nearly every second it’s into,” Schapp said.
The same dynamics are being played out in food banks throughout the state. As food from government’s efforts is delivering to Alaskans who need it, staff who work at food banks say that demand is higher than ever.
The length of time required to meet demands is causing concern within the Legislature.
In the House committee this week Rep. Alyse Galvin I-Anchorage told the House that there’s still work to be done in the event that Alaska’s most vulnerable residents aren’t eating enough.
A swing and miss
In the house floor the previous Wednesday evening, Congressman Galvin employed the baseball metaphor “a swing and missed” for the way the federal government responded to the crisis of food stamps.
” The governor attempted to take action,” said Galvin, in reference to the funds Dunleavy moved to lessen pressure on the food bank. “And you should remember this was an extremely successful decision. However, if you look at the numbers the reality is that we’re not any closer to being complete again.”
Galvin claimed that she believes the Legislature has approved a budget of millions of dollars to upgrade division of public assistance’s system, and it claims that the computer is a major factor in the backlog. However, she would like the Legislature to consider a more comprehensive view. She also cited the time that the Legislature authorized the elimination of more than 100 job positions from the department just two years back.
“We should be aware that some of the important decisions made here will have ramifications that are repeated later innings that we might not be aware of right now but are essential to our work to do throughout our game” the woman said using the baseball metaphor.
State’s Division of Public Assistance is currently recruiting and training 30 new employees as part of a state actions to address the backlog.
Galvin told me she’s been having discussions with her colleagues regarding how they can do more.
“It’s going to require more than an elected official,” she said. “But what can we bring our energies together and create something more effective that this Band-Aid that seems to not have solved the issue?”
“The anti-hunger system was not intended for replacement of SNAP”
The majority of the money Dunleavy allotted for food aid to tackle the issue went to Food Banks of Alaska, the state-wide body that provides local programs to combat hunger. The agency provided an estimated 185,000 pounds of foods items to replenish food banks throughout the state in the past month, and is now on the path to more than tripling the amount. Meehan stated that the partner organizations have reported that they’ve served 200 000 Alaskans.
“Our partner organizations continue to experience an increase in need,” said Ron Meehan Food Bank Alaska’s policy manager and advocate. “The anti-hunger program was not created for replacement of SNAP.”
He estimated that SNAP offers at least 10 times the amount of food as the food bank system provides. Food banks complained that they did not have enough food for their patrons prior to the state’s funding infusion, Meehan said.
The program does not entirely meet the needs, Meehan said, but said that it wasn’t designed to fill in the gaps.
“Having more money to purchase food directly could make a big impact,” he said.
The biggest aid will be getting rid of the backlog of food stamps.
The story first appeared in Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission..
