At a food bank in Newport, Wendy Gomes waited for her turn.
Gomes had been to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center many times before. But today, a cloud of anxiety hovered over her visit.
“I have a 9-year-old daughter that I need to provide and feed,” said Gomes. “I hope Nov. 1 comes and they do give us our food stamps.”
Gomes is one of about 145,000 Rhode Islanders who receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and are at risk of missing their benefits come November. About 1.1 million people are at risk of not receiving their benefits in Massachusetts.
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a warning on its website that the agency would not be sending November funds for SNAP, also known as food stamps, due to the federal government shutdown. SNAP is primarily funded by the federal government, though administered by the states. Rhode Island receives about $29 million a month to run its program; Massachusetts receives about $240 million.
On Tuesday, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee declared a state of emergency over the expected $29 million shortfall and announced that he would shift $6 million in funding from other sources to help prevent hunger. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha also joined states across the country in suing the federal government to unlock funding. Currently, states are facing a large gap if the shutdown continues to November and funds are not sent.
Rhonda Hill is homeless and lives in her truck in Newport. She considers SNAP to be a lifeline.
“What are they thinking?” said Hill. “We need food.”
Hill said she already depends on local food banks for breakfast, but SNAP allows her to cook a proper meal when she has a place to prepare food.
“Basically without SNAP, I have nothing left,” Hill said.
The average SNAP benefit in Rhode Island is $199 per month. Many recipients work full- or part-time but still rely on the assistance to make ends meet.
At the Newport pantry, Tatiana, who shared only her first name for privacy reasons, chatted with a volunteer as she pushed a green shopping cart down the aisles of the pantry.
“It’s a huge worry,” she said. “It’s really helpful to have stability and consistency when it comes to providing meals for my family.”
Tatiana is a single mother to three children. She works at a school helping special needs students learn life skills.
“There would be changes to how much fresh fruit and vegetables we could get, and essential proteins,” she added. “We would probably be using canned food more.”
Wendy Gomes said she would turn more often to soup kitchens and food pantries if her SNAP benefits are delayed.
“I’m glad we’ve got the food pantries to go to,” she said. “I do go to soup kitchens if I can’t provide food, like tonight.”
Heather Strout, the executive director of Newport’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Community Center, has already seen an uptick in need. There were more people at their hot meals, and the pantry was busier than usual.
“I’m trying to reassure all of them that we are here and that we will keep working hard to help meet the need,” Strout said. “But I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t say that it could be an unprecedented need that we see.”
For more information on Rhode Island’s response to the looming SNAP gap, visit SNAPsupport.ri.gov
