As the rain crashed down in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood Thursday morning, dozens of residents lined up outside the Lutheran Settlement House.
The food bank is now serving double the number of clients, leading the nonprofit to source food from other donor organizations to meet the increased demand. On Thursday, Lutheran Settlement House served 115 visitors, compared with a typical day of 30 clients.
Food banks nationwide are bracing for a surging need for groceries as benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, freeze amid a government shutdown that has lasted for more than four weeks.
“Everyone who comes to us for assistance is leaving with something, but I don’t think they’re leaving with enough,” said David Chiles, executive director of Lutheran Settlement House. “If SNAP benefits are frozen, there’s no way for social service organizations and the hunger relief network to manage that loss of funds, and that’s going to be devastating for us.”
Lutheran Settlement House is just one Philadelphia food bank that is reporting an increased volume of applications for free meals. The organization is purchasing more food than ever before.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a disaster declaration Friday to direct $5 million in state funding to the nonprofit organization Feeding Pennsylvania to help food banks purchase more healthy food, including from local farmers.
Food banks are hopeful the funding will help them meet the demand. However, the funding doesn’t match the $366 million in monthly SNAP benefits Pennsylvanians receive, and food banks continue to urge the federal government to keep SNAP benefits afloat.
“I’m incredibly grateful for our state and county governments stepping up to help fill the gaps left by the failures of our federal leadership,” said George Matysik, executive director of ShareFood program. The organization distributes food assistance to food pantries across the Philadelphia area, which collectively serve more than 500,000 people a month, according to Matysik.
“Hunger doesn’t take a break, and neither can we. A freeze of SNAP benefits is unacceptable and while this $5 million infusion is much needed, it won’t take the place of missing federal investment,” he added.
