WASHINGTON CO. FOOD PANTRIES PREPARING FOR INCREASED DEMAND AMID UNCERTAINTY WITH SNAP BENEFITS
With food assistance benefits up in the air as the government shutdown heads into its second month, food pantries in Washington County are doing what they can for local residents.
Tomorrow (Saturday) marks the cutoff for payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Payment (SNAP) program, meaning benefits will be suspended for over 40 million Americans. Today (Friday), a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to distribute contingency funding for November SNAP payments, but it is not currently known if or when those funds will become available to recipients.
Officials from Bread Partners of Washington County, Faith Mission and the Burton Bridge Ministry say as the need for assistance grows, they are ready to serve residents.
Bread Partners Vice President Wendell Brown says the organization serves about 300 families a week, but could see as many as 400 or more with the shutdown continuing. He says no changes are planned right now for its operations or schedule, which includes a mobile run around the county on Monday mornings and distributions Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons at the Washington County Expo.
Faith Mission Executive Director Reverend Randy Wells says approximately 200 families per month receive food through its food pantry program, which serves citizens every Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 500 East Academy Street in Brenham. Additionally, the Cannery Kitchen at 314 East Alamo Street in Brenham provides over 15,000 meals each year. Rev. Wells says, “For 40 years, it has been our biblical mandate to feed the hungry. Our mandate does not change because of a government shut down.”
Susie Tommaney, who coordinates the Burton Bridge Ministry’s Manna Food Pantry at 307 North Brazos Street in Burton, says just over 200 families receive services through the pantry, which offers visits five times a month. Its hours are 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Tuesdays, 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. She says the ministry is making plans with the Brazos Valley Food Bank to accept additional food, and has also been holding meetings with them to prepare for all possibilities and ensure no one goes hungry while this situation resolves.
According to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, a total of 1,563 Washington County households, consisting of 3,332 eligible individuals, received SNAP benefits in September. The average payment per case was $354, totaling $553,176 in aid. Broken down, the number of recipients included 1,634 who are 17 or younger, 1,165 between the age of 18-59, and 533 who are 60 or older.
Anyone who would like to support food pantry programs in Washington County can visit https://breadpartnersfoodpantry.org, https://faithmission.us or https://burtonbridgeministry.org.