Trouble brews in local food pantries with the interruption of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) this month. The benefits have been restored, but the ripples have already taken effect: area food pantries are starting to run short on supplies. While these benefits have only been fully restored for the month, many people may soon lose their aid yet again. This is due to an increased requisite number of work hours and fewer people meeting the threshold of state-defined need, further complicating an already intricate problem.
Earlier in the month, Superintendent Dr. Al Lewis confirmed that there have been problems with keeping the local food pantries stocked because so many more people in November were without food and without recourse.
The Shop is Rowan University’s own personal food pantry for students.
“The pantry is available for all students. We are primarily a food pantry, but we do have other resources available for students to support other basic needs or other services they may require. But for the most part, the [Shop] is perishable and non-perishable food items, but we do have personal hygiene products, school supplies at certain times of the year … things like that,” said Rowan’s Assistant Director of Volunteerism and Community Engagement and The Shop’s manager, Dr. Andrew Perrone.
In general, The Shop allows for one basket per person, larger items notwithstanding, and one person per week.
“We generally have a bell curve of shoppers when they express need … there is a small percentage of the students that are on the end of the bell curve that we are their sole and only source of food. Without the shop, they would have no other food source … on the complete opposite end, you have students who say, ‘I just come to see what you have,’” said Perrone.
Out of respect for a sensitive subject, 20-year-old math major Victor A. is feeling that pinch.
“Milk is something that we always get … and there could be some good pieces of steak sometimes or burger patties … notebooks, pencils … it’s meant a lot. It saves a lot of money. We get all the supplies for the house, so it’s saving us a lot of money. The upper floor has some clothes too. It’s really helpful. I wouldn’t want this to be shut down,” said Victor.
Local food pantry The Samaritan Center, also known as the Glassboro Food Bank, helps residents of Glassboro relieve food insecurity.
“Generally, people — especially this time of year — everybody thinks about food at Thanksgiving. It’s like, there’s something wrong if not everybody has a Thanksgiving meal, which is a good perception … but this time of year, we’ve had people from all over — what you see us sorting right now just came from an organization that I’d never heard of,” said 73-year-old David Walters, who is the coordinator of the pantry.
The recent Glassboro Schools Food Drive netted the center over 400 lbs. of food alone. The trouble arises during the summertime, when schools are not in session, to raise funds or food.
“Over the summer, we’re pretty much dependent on just neighbors and churches,” said Walters. “It’s interesting, the use of the pantry has been creeping up since June. Actually, the only really big turnout was the first week in November, we had 96 families show up, which is almost double what we’d expect on a weekly basis.”
Where the people who partake in the Shop’s resources prefer milk, at the Food Bank, they can’t quite keep apple juice in stock, which makes sense because the Samaritan Food Bank serves families. For as much as the loss of SNAP benefits has wreaked havoc on some people, other Glassboro residents are trying to rise to the occasion.
“Since the threat of loss of SNAP benefits really came into people’s consciousness in October, the donations have definitely picked up,” said Walters
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