Feb. 28—LIMA — The effects of cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beginning March 1, which were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by Congress in December, could have a significant impact on individuals and businesses throughout the west central Ohio area, according to a Lima food distribution center.
During the pandemic, SNAP benefits waived distribution on the basis of financial need and moved all recipients to the highest payment possible of $281 per month. Then on top of that came an emergency allotment of $95. Now the SNAP program is going back to pre-pandemic funding which will eliminate the emergency payment of $95, and funding once again will be based on income.
When pandemic aid that boosted food-stamp benefits gets cut, low-income west central Ohio residents will face smaller balances in the accounts they use to pay for groceries, leaving food banks fearing a spike in demand.
"Over the past few months, our donations have been down anyway because of the supply chains," West Ohio Food Bank CEO Tommie Harner said. "Things are starting to get back up there, but now we're getting hit with this. So you know, we're still going to probably see not the normal amount of donations that we did pre-pandemic."
The impact on the food bank could be even greater given the area it services.
"What we're doing is just trying to look at serving 11 counties," Harner said. "Where is the greatest need? We receive a report every month from Feeding America that is called an 'MPEN' — meals per person in need. That shows us how many food-insecure people that are in each county that we serve, how many pounds and meals we have put into those counties and what the gap is."
Meeting the needs in that gap is a collaborative effort, according to Harner, with every available dollar used to its maximum potential.
"What does it take to operate a food bank? Out of every dollar, 96 cents goes into the program with only 4 cents going to administrative costs," Harner said. "For every dollar we receive, we can provide up to about six meals. The way we are able to do that is with those partnerships through Feeding America and the Ohio Association of Food Banks. So we're able just with those partnerships able to stretch that dollar further."
For Allen County, the estimated loss of monthly allocations after the reduction of SNAP benefits is just over $1 million, affecting nearly 13,000 people with cuts ranging from $95 up to hundreds of dollars each month.