SPOKANE, Wash. — A local food bank has seen a 40% increase in demand over the last two weeks as millions of Americans continue waiting for federal food assistance amid ongoing government funding delays.
The surge comes as food banks across the region struggle to meet growing need while federal SNAP benefits remain uncertain. A federal judge Thursday ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the program by Friday, but the Department of Justice plans to appeal the decision.
Cal Coblentz, CEO of the Spokane-based food bank, Partners Inland Northwest, said the organization faces significant uncertainty about emergency food support.
“I think there is a lot of uncertainty about what is actually going to happen with the emergency food support statewide and nationally,” Coblentz said.
The judge’s ruling requires the USDA to tap billions of dollars in emergency funding to ensure full benefits are paid, citing that 16 million children risk going hungry without SNAP funding. In Spokane alone, one in five people rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table.
Partners Inland Northwest received some emergency funding from Governor Bob Ferguson’s $2.2 million statewide allocation for Spokane County this week.
“Our agency received the funding for Spokane County. That was $121,000 approximately for this week. We use that funding to buy about 25 pallets of food,” Coblentz said.
However, the emergency funding presents challenges. Food banks must purchase food first and wait for reimbursement, and the money doesn’t buy enough food to meet demand.
Coblentz emphasized that food banks cannot fully replace federal assistance programs.
“Food banks cannot replace SNAP because we provide one meal and SNAP provides ten meals,” he said.
The increased demand is visible at distribution sites. Adam Jay, who receives SNAP benefits and visits food banks twice monthly, noticed significant changes.
“Yeah, it’s a lot more people. The parking lot normally is about half full when we come. Now it’s hard to find a place to park,” Jay said.
Jay said he and his family will face some difficult decisions if federal benefits don’t arrive as scheduled.
“If we don’t get it at the middle of the month when it normally comes, we’re going to have to make some choices on what to pay,” he said.
One volunteer described seeing lines extending out the door at recent distributions.
“The last two times we’ve been here, there’s been a line out the door. Probably half the people signing up haven’t been here before,” the volunteer said.
Despite challenges, Partners Inland Northwest has seen increased community support through donations and volunteers. Mark Spear, a volunteer at the organization, emphasized the importance of community action.
“We need to give. If it’s to be, it’s up to me, so we get out and we try to help,” Spear said.
State officials continue waiting for federal guidance on when even partial SNAP benefits might be distributed, with no timeline currently available.
For more information on Partners Inland Northwest, visit partnersinw.org.
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