How many of your local food banks are having this problem since the cut in SNAP funds? [View all]

[Skidmore]

Is there some collection point to throw this back at Congress? This House is just disgusting. How do you actively vote to allow hunger to increase and spread?

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Food-Pantry-Demand-Up-as-Benefit-Cuts-Take-Hold-233387371.html

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- Food pantries call this time of year the “giving season” as many groups conduct food drives to fill shelves. But it may take more giving than usual to meet some of the increased demand.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients saw a 13.6 percent cut in benefits beginning the first of November. For a family of four, on what’s still largely called food stamps, the reduction adds up to $36.00 per month. And fewer federal dollars is starting to have an impact on area food banks. One organizer summed it up—demand the last few weeks is up and donations haven’t kept pace. Now the concern is whether this is a temporary blip as families adjust to the reductions or whether it’s the “new normal” that food pantries will have to meet in the future.

At the Linn Community Food Bank, a normal day usually means serving 12 to 20 families. But since the SNAP reductions took effect on November 1st, that daily number is closer to 35.

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“Last year we did 11,300 people. We’re already at 13,000 right now. I anticipate the end of this month and next month we’ll be close to 14,000. We’re growing about 20-25 percent a year,” DeWolf said.

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