Local pantries brace for FoodShare freeze

Ozaukee County food pantries are bracing for what could be a surge of new clients in the coming weeks as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the country’s primary hunger prevention program, which in Wisconsin is known as FoodShare ­— is paused due to the government shutdown.

‘It’s scary, very scary,” Andrea Acosta, executive director of the Ozaukee Food Alliance in Saukville, said, noting more than 3,000 Ozaukee County residents receive SNAP benefits. In Wisconsin, an estimated 700,000 residents receive these benefits.

“I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights. You just don’t want to leave anyone hungry.”

The Food Alliance saw “a little bit” of an uptick in clients during the past week as federal workers impacted by the shutdown went without a paycheck, Acosta said, “but it’s not as large as we expect with SNAP. I feel like we could be open every single day and still not be able to serve everyone who needs it.”

When the government shut down, Acosta said, she knew there was a possibility food assistance programs could be affected.

“ I just honestly didn’t think it would get this far with SNAP,” she said. “Where are these people going to get their food now? They don’t all of a sudden make more money.”

“The people in charge of the government, they don’t see what we do,” Marcia Nosko, executive director of The Food Pantry Inc. in Port Washington, said. “They know it hurts people, but they just don’t see it.”

The impact is already here, Nosko added. 

“We’re not anticipating (increased need), we’re seeing it,” she said. 

When the Port food pantry opened Saturday, Nosko said, the staff took “a lot” of new registrations, and the same thing happened during its hours on Tuesday. 

“We can absorb what we’ve gotten already. But I think we’re going to see a larger spike,” she said. “I’ve had clients calling and inquiring. They’re getting nervous their benefits are going to run out.”

Some clients have been saving as much money on their SNAP cards as they can to try and make the funding last longer, Nosko said, but agencies are recommending they spend the money now even if they have to buy nonperishable items for the future.

“They don’t know if it will be there tomorrow,” she said.

The government shutdown and the potential loss of food benefits comes at a bad time for clients who are already struggling, Acosta and Nosko said.

The economy is tough, and the cost of living has been increasing. Housing is expensive and utility and food costs are going up as well.

“And it’s Ozaukee County,  and so many people don’t realize what the numbers, the needs, are,” Nosko said. “The impression people have is that we don’t have these needs here.”

The Port Food Pantry serves between 100 and 130 clients a week, Nosko said, but the true number of people in need is larger than that. 

“Behind those numbers are families,” she said. “You might have a single individual, you might have a couple, you might have a large family or a small family.”

The pantry distributes 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of food a month, Nosko said.

If the shutdown, and the pause on SNAP benefits, goes on too long, she said, “We may have to restrict some items.”

The Ozaukee Food Alliance opens its pantry three days a week, with about 150 appointments available, Acosta said. Those appointments haven’t all been filled in the past, she said, but they have been in the last few months.

Each month, clients are allowed to go to one full pantry, where they can select shelf-stable food items, fresh produce, meat, bakery and hygiene products, and one mini-pantry, where they can get everything but shelf-stable items.

Acosta said the Food Alliance has served about 2,500 households this year, with the total number of visits this year at 8,111. 

Its clients, she said, run the gamut — young people, the elderly, young families, single households. Most clients work, but they don’t make enough money to cover expenses.

To help with the anticipated needs, the Food Alliance is looking at offering outreach markets as soon as next week where it could give clients a variety of products, depending on what donations come in, Acosta said. These markets would be held on days the Food Alliance doesn’t offer its regular pantries. 

“We’re just trying to find a way to make sure we can service more people than we do now,” she said. “And we still have to maintain our other programs. We just have to make sure all our neighbors are taken care of.”

Both Acosta and Nosko said they have been reaching out to the community and their partners to try and deal with the anticipated increase in need.

Acosta said they are looking for people to host food drives and letting people know what their needs are, adding, “We really do have an amazing community in our county.”

Monetary donations are always welcome, she said, noting that the pantries can purchase food at wholesale prices.

Both Nosko and Acosta said the community is supportive of the pantries, with Nosko noting that the Port Washington High School Student Council Trick or Treat for the Hungry last week brought in almost 2,000 pounds of food.

The women said they hope the federal shutdown will be resolved soon, and with it funding for food assistance programs restored.

But that’s not a given, Acosta said.

“There’s already been cuts in the program,” she said. 

Nosko added, “Hopefully we’ll be able to get through this and the SNAP benefits will come back. 

“For now, this is manageable. If it goes on and on, it won’t be.”