The government shutdown is showing no signs of ending soon. Federal programs like SNAP are set to run out of funds on Nov. 1. Nearly 1.5 million Ohioans may lose coverage, and here in Hamilton County, that translates to 105,542 people.
With coverage ending, local food banks have been preparing and bracing for the moment, including Jewish Family Services’ Heldman Family Food Pantry at the Barbash Family Vital Support Center.
“We’ve already served over 650 people this year, and at any given time, it could be approximately 150 households,” said Liz Vogel, CEO of JFS.
She shared that half of the JFS Food Pantry client list is children. Vogel said that with benefits ending, they have already had to increase the support they provide to families and individuals, and that the amount could double or quadruple going forward.
“We’ll double our support for most of our current clients; they’ll need more because they will lose their SNAP, and we have designed our food pantry to complement the SNAP program, rather than replace it,” she said. “Now we’re looking at replacing it, and then we expect to see a surge in additional need in Hamilton, Warren, and Butler counties, where we serve.”
With the expected massive increase in need, JFS is seeking community support from donations to volunteers.
“We rely on donors at the best of times, and we’re going to be leaning on volunteers – leaning heavily on them now,” Vogel said.
“We’ll need help with home deliveries. More help to people who are unable to leave the house and come shop in the pantry,” she said. “We’re going to need help staffing additional hours.”
For information on how to get involved with the Heldman Family Food Pantry, folks can visit the JFS website and the virtual food drive.
The majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and the need for assistance can be one crisis away, even in the Jewish community. The 2019 Jewish foundation community study found that 28% of households don’t have enough saved to cover expenses after an unexpected loss of income, and that 3% could not cover a $ 400 expense in full.
“It is an important takeaway, how many of us are one crisis away, one emergency, one missed paycheck away from needing support,” said Vogel.
In past government shutdowns, services like SNAP have remained funded, including in the first Trump term. As of this publication, two Federal Judges have ordered the Trump administration to pay some SNAP benefits.
If you, your family, or someone you know needs assistance, check out this emergency food assistance guide and the JFS website.
