Addressing food insecurity in the face of the US Government shutdown
Although we were planning to share a post from Eric Treworgy from his succession planning series, we are switching gears. It would be next to impossible not to be aware of the current state of food assistance to those most vulnerable among us. With SNAP and EBT suspended on November 1st, and even with the potential for half funding that the Whitehouse is allowing, there are hundreds of families in the region who will be impacted.
A couple of weeks back, when the potential for a suspension in benefits became more of a reality, social service agencies, area businesses, and the General Assistance team at Ellsworth and in other communities began to mobilize to address the issue head-on. As the Union River Center has been working in the food space to explore its and the City’s place in the Downeast food system, we have enjoyed the emergence of many new partnerships within the area food economy, and leveraging those relationships has allowed the us to aggregate a list of resources for families being impacted by the EBT and SNAP benefit changes and another list of opportunities for our community to help those neighbors in need.
The Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry is a critical resource for area families and offers a full service pantry, free computers and Internet access, informational resources, and classes to show participants how to shop for and cook meals on a limited budget. Thanks to a collaboration with the City of Ellsworth, multiple locations throughout the city have been set up to accept donations for the pantry.
Community Closet 207 is another great resource offering clothing and household supplies to anyone for free. Patrons at Community Closet can grab non-food necessities that are not covered by EBT and SNAP and have more money for food.
Aside from donations of goods, gift cards, or cash, Loaves & Fishes and Community Closet can always use volunteers; your time is as valuable as our money!
For the current list of the resources we’ve compiled, and to learn how you can help, visit our Food Security Resource Page.
As we continue to explore our place in the local and regional food system, the current state of our national food safety net certainly drives home the point that the food access element is fragile and at the same time critical to food security in our community.
It truly does take a village; thank you to all who are working to ensure food security in our community.
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