Many in the D.C. region might find it a little harder to buy food after additional federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits, ended Tuesday for many states.
Now, the Maryland Food Bank is bracing for more hungry mouths to come to their doors.
Emergency allotments added during the COVID-19 public health emergency gave many families an additional $82 a month in food assistance, according to the Food Research and Action Center.
“We cover the entire state, we expect up to 700,000 people to be affected by this change,” Maryland Food Bank CEO Carmen Del Guercio told WTOP.
The already busy organization has seen an increase in usage due to the pandemic and inflation over the past few years. According to an analysis done by the Maryland Food Bank in late January using U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey data, two in five Maryland families said their children were sometimes or often not eating enough because food was not affordable.
“We’re buying about 25 million pounds of food a year, when historically, pre-COVID, it was about 12 million, and we’re also paying about double what we were paying pre-COVID, about 88 cents a pound versus 44 cents,” said Del Guercio.
Del Guercio said the state organization is working with its over 300 network partners to ensure that they’re in a position to respond to their local community needs. They will also help with fundraising efforts across the state so enough food can be bought to respond to the potential demand.
The group, which sees a large portion of its donations during the holiday season, is always looking for year-round monetary donations as well as volunteers, because hunger is not seasonal.
“The importance of having a steady flow of donations coming into the organization throughout the year really helps us plan much more effectively in terms of the food we’re buying, because we are now buying about twice the level of food that we historically have bought both to respond to increased demand,” said Del Guercio.
The Maryland food bank will also be working with legislators to try to tackle the root causes of hunger.
“In addition to addressing root causes, we are urging policymakers to consider a holistic approach to food insecurity that includes tax credits, public benefits and no-cost school meals. This also includes ongoing support for the food assistance safety net and a stronger local food system,” Del Guercio explained.
“If we don’t tackle the deeper issues that cause food insecurity, we’ll never bring about the meaningful change that achieves our goal of ending hunger in this state.”
If you or your family is in need of food assistance or wish to donate to Maryland-based food banks visit their website for more information.
