SPOKANE, Wash. — Thousands of people across the Inland Northwest are still waiting for their monthly food stamps. Local food banks expect delays and more people to rely on them, even if the government shutdown ends.
The Caritas Food Bank in Spokane sees 16 new clients daily as people wait for SNAP benefits. Some people received benefits after a federal judge’s order Friday, but many others like Melinda Helm still haven’t received payments.
Caritas received several hundred pounds of donations over the last two weeks. The donations came just in time for all the new clients walking through their doors.
“It’s really tough because, I don’t have hardly anything at home to eat. Basically I’m just living off of peanut butter, bread and cheese, and I have diabetes,” Helm said. She came to Caritas for the first time and hasn’t received her SNAP benefits.
Helm is on a Celiac diet and needs low-sugar and gluten-free food, which can be hard to find at food banks.
“I am on what they call a Celiac diet which means everything I eat has to be gluten free. It’s really hard to find gluten-free food anywhere because they usually don’t make it,” Helm said.
“They really don’t so I have to go off my diet a little bit. I do read the labels when I come here and I do the best I can. If it’s 1% sugar, I’m okay,” Helm said.
Caritas got over 600 pounds in food donations today alone from local food drives and larger organizations like Northwest Harvest. Northwest Harvest tripled its emergency food distribution this month, offering $1 million in food across Washington.
Working with organizations like Northwest Harvest has made it easier to keep shelves stocked. Caritas recently got a big shipment of potatoes, tomatoes and onions.
“Thank goodness we have those resources because they’re the big guys and they go out and get those big donations in. They work with the potato farmers, the onion farmers to get those 40,000 pounds in,” said Christine Tabat, executive director of Caritas Food Bank.
Executive Director Christine Tabat believes the rising cost of living will drive more people to food banks, even when SNAP benefits are fully restored. She says learning to cook and meal prep is crucial to help stretch out food supplies at home.
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