With funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) set to expire at the end of October as a result of the federal government shutdown, actions are being taken locally to help those with food needs that can’t otherwise be met.
Update: On Friday, judges ruled the Trump administration must use emergency funds to cover at least some of the benefits in November.
According to a MassLive report on SNAP (formerly food stamps) use by community in Massachusetts, more than 700 people in Wellesley count on this benefit.
The Charles River Regional Chamber this weekend is launching an effort to support food pantries and distributors in response to the anticipated shutdown of SNAP, which serves more than a million people in the state.
More than 20 chamber-member restaurants will donate a portion of gift card sales from Nov. 1–Nov. 26 to Spoonfuls, a Newton nonprofit that rescues fresh, healthy food and delivers it to local pantries and other community programs. If you’re with a restaurant interested in participating, reach out to the Chamber’s Max Woolf.
Wellesley Food Pantry at 207 Washington St. has a wish list that you can shop from to help those who it serves. Leave donations inside the permanent collection bin near the exit at Roche Bros, or drop them off at the Pantry on Mondays 2-3pm. The wish list is updated weekly.
Pantry hours are 1:45 – 4:45pm on Tuesday afternoons, and 5:15 to 6:45pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, with expanded hours as needed.
The pantry is offering offering emergency bags of groceries as needed upon request, and increasing monthly food quantities.
We’ve also reached out to MassBay Community College, which is always on top of food insecurity issues, for updates on anything they might be doing to address the SNAP situation. We’ll update this post with any news.
The Rotary Club of Wellesley is another local organization that backs food insecurity programs (you can help the Rotary in its work by taking part in its current Dinner on Us! program). It’s discussing the SNAP situation at its meeting next week.
Nearby, the Centre Street Food Pantry, a Newton nonprofit that serves residents of Brookline, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown and Wellesley, has announced its response to the pending cuts to SNAP. Centre Street will expand its hours, provide additional Thanksgiving items, and stock as much food as possible to provide fresh produce, dairy and meal-making groceries to those in need.
The Pantry is:
- Extending its Tuesday service days to include an additional half hour for those who cannot make an appointment.
- Extending its Saturday service day by one hour.
- Offering all families something extra such as a pie, a roast chicken or a turkey (according to household size), as well as holiday foods as they are available (stuffing, cranberry sauce, brown sugar) in addition to a full complement of groceries that include fresh sliced bread and heaping bags of produce.
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