American families turn to food banks as food subsidies stop news

When Dalitia Chung, of Montgomery County, Maryland, learned that her November food benefits would be delayed, she immediately made a plan with her extended family to share meals and groceries so she could feed herself and her child.

But after receiving a basket of groceries from the Manna Food Center food bank in Silver Spring, she said she couldn’t rely on them forever.

“If I don’t receive any benefits within two weeks, I will look into other available options,” she added.

Chung is one of about 42 million Americans whose receipt of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, has been delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown, which is now the longest in US history.

For many of them, the beginning of November brought confusion, anxiety and painful choices as the food aid program was halted for the first time in its 60-year history.

There is still uncertainty surrounding when millions of poor families in the United States will receive money allocated for food assistance under a federal program, which brings back to the minds of Americans the years of the “Great Depression.”

As the government shutdown enters its 34th day, it is not yet clear whether about 42 million low-income Americans will receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that allow them to purchase food.

Political crisis

President Donald Trump’s administration said it would comply with a federal court order to provide partial aid this month, but warned that the money could take weeks to reach beneficiaries of the program, commonly referred to as SNAP.

Meanwhile, beneficiaries are carefully managing their limited budgets, turning to food pantries, and sacrificing some things to try to weather the disruptions.

Amanda Trester, 47, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said she only paid half of her monthly treatment so she could save money to buy food.

Trester also keeps a second calendar to track when she’s due to receive food from certain stores, which often have limits on the number of times customers can visit.

She says she now eats smaller amounts of food at each meal, and preserves what she can.

Data from the US Department of Agriculture indicate that about 80% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) families include either a child, an elderly person, or a non-elderly person suffering from a disability.

To qualify for the program’s benefits, beneficiaries’ income must be less than 130% of the country’s poverty line level, which is $1,632 per month for a family of one person and $2,215 per month for a family of two people in many areas.