Local Food Banks Face Surge Behind Government Shutdown

Despite the government shutdown ending, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program being reinstated, local food banks still continue to see increased demand. “I’ve been volunteering here for a long time, but this has been one of the busiest months I’ve been a part of,” said Greg Minston, an Akron resident and food bank volunteer. “When the government shut down, it got crazy, but even after it reopened it’s been busy.”

To help satisfy the need, the food bank has extended its hours on the weekend and evenings as well as opening pop-ups around the area. They will continue to have extended hours throughout December as well.

The Akron Community Foundation and others have joined the cause by donating money to the food bank t.

The city of Akron has also allocated $100,000 to the food bank. According to Signal Akron, over 51,000 Akron citizens are on SNAP benefits

On Nov. 3, the Cuyahoga Falls City Council voted to donate over $51,000 to the food bank, about one dollar per resident on SNAP benefits. The Galen and Ruth Roush Foundation also donated $50,000 to the food bank as well. 

“It was a huge help getting those donations,” said Macy Armstrong, a retired real-estate agent and current part-time worker at the food bank. “We were struggling to keep up after losing some of that funding, and we’re still struggling now, but those donations were so helpful to us.”

Armstrong said the donations are being used in various ways, including buying more food as well as paying for increased staffing.

“A lot of that money is being used to buy food of course, but with extended hours and pop-up pantries that we have, there’s much more staffing,” Armstrong said. “I think a lot of people forget that when it comes to food banks. It’s not just the food, but also the workers, too.”

She said it’s because of donations that the food bank can continue to do its work.

“We get a lot of donations, which is obviously nice,” Armstrong said. “It’s nice to know that the city cares, though. They were on top of this pretty soon after the shutdown. It was really nice getting that money from Cuyahoga Falls. Donating to another city like that is incredibly generous to me.”

The funding for SNAP is up and running once more, but the effects of the shutdown still linger. While some still await their benefits, the food bank is still their main source to put food on the table, says Armstrong.

According to the Akron Canton Food Bank’s website, one in seven people, and one in six children suffer from food insecurity

more than happy to fund. Our local government has been very supportive, but our state and national governments haven’t been much help to us.”

Minston said food banks should be a high priority for the government. 

The effects of the shutdown are also coming on the heels of other pulls in government funding. Ohio cut the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program and the state’s Agriculture Clearance Program that, according to the food bank’s website, will lead to a loss of three million pounds of food this year.

“I don’t really get it. I’m sure they’re dealing with things that are much bigger than food banks. I’m sure there’s international problems they’re focused on, but help feed your people,” Minston said. “The state government making cuts on us though, I don’t know why that happened. I’m sure they also have their reasons, too, but I still think they should have found a way to not make any cuts.” 

According to the Akron-Canton Food Bank website, government support has dropped off by about 36 percent. Armstrong shared Minston’s confusion on the cuts to the food bank and spoke about her concerns for its survival.

“The donations are great, but we shouldn’t be relying on them,” Armstrong said. “It sometimes feels like living paycheck to paycheck as an organization when we don’t have steady funding from the government.”

For now,  the foodbank will look to build partnerships with the city and donors for consistent income, Armstrong said. 

“I’ve been hearing talk about making deals with the city and major donors to make sure that we don’t have that paycheck to paycheck feeling,” Armstrong said. “That would make us all feel a lot better, having some consistency here because we can then be consistent with our customers as well.”