Rebekah Porter San Marcos Daily Record
Should the Federal Government permanently end funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, more than 7300 households and 16,772 individuals in Hays County will be affected, according to data from the Hays County Food Bank.
On Friday, NBC news reported, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use contingency funds to bankroll the program ‘as soon as possible,’ before the benefits expired for millions of Americans on November 1, because of the government shutdown.” The shutdown began October 1.
Two federal judges, one in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island, ordered the administration to report to them on Monday, November 3, to inform them how the administration will comply with the ruling. On his official Facebook page, Trump wrote, “I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
For those affected, the threat of losing SNAP benefits became very real last week. The Wimberley View reached out to the Crisis Bread Basket, Wimberley’s food pantry, for their thoughts, should the benefits be permanently suspended.
Community Outreach Coordinator Christine Walker, said “With the ending of SNAP benefits, we anticipate an increase in new clients and the possibly of seeing previous clients return. Currently, at Crisis Bread Basket, we are monitoring new registrations and will adjust our processes and food purchasing accordingly.”
When asked what people can do to get ahead of what might turn into a food crisis for them, Walker said, “Families or individuals who expect to experience a food crisis, due to lack of work or lack of SNAP benefits, should come to Crisis Bread Basket during our distribution times on Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. or Thursday from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. and register. Clients are required to live in the Wimberley area or to have children enrolled in the WISD district.”
Individuals and businesses, she said, can help Crisis Bread Basket by dropping a check in the drop box on the door at their physical location in the Brookshire Brothers parking lot, 14092 RR 12. Or they can donate canned items listed on their website, crisisbreadbasket. org/homepage/ifyou- want-to-donatefood/.
An easy way for the community to donate necessary canned items for CBB is to purchase a “brown bag,” which is avail- able at the checkout at Brookshire Brothers. The bags are pre-assembled and go directly to CBB. Individuals can also use the PayPal link on the crisisbreadbasket.org website to donate. During the month of November, Ozona Bank will generously match funds raised by Crisis Breadbasket, from the Turkeys on 12 donations and others, up to $10,000.
Executive Director at Barnabas Connection Kate Sowell said, “At this moment, we won’t know how Barnabas will be impacted but I would imagine the food banks will have a large increase in need.”
“This year,” said Sowell, “we are experiencing the biggest need since we began in 2004, with the exception in 2021 due to COVID and that year’s Winter storm, and in 2015 because of the Memorial Day and Halloween floods.”
“We are on track to hit $65K given to the community for short term assistance through our Wimberley Community Emergency Fund, at at barnabasconnects. org, the bulk of which goes to utility and rent assistance. Anyone wanting to help can give to that fund or round up at the register at any participating merchant in town. Sonora Bank is generously matching the first $5,000. that is raised,” she said.
Because many government and nonprofit services are located thirty minutes or more from Wimberley, Barnabas assists people in need in the immediate area.
“The Central Texas Food Bank will be monitoring zip codes to see where the highest enrolled from SNAP are and where the extra demand is coming,” Hays County Food Bank Executive Director Lisa Young said. “We are sending our extra demand numbers to them too, so that they can determine places where we might need some extra distribution.”
“All roads come through the food bank, as it turns out. We see everyone. We see college students, senior citizens, babies and young adults. We see people who speak English, and people who don’t. We have everyone coming through the food bank, from the volunteer and faith community, to elected officials. So it really is a hub for the community,” Young said.
The Hays County Food Bank is located in San Marcos but is a resource open to all Hays County residents. “We’re asking people to contact their congressman to say what their concerns are about this situation,” Young said.
The HCFB helps provide food for 30 other sites outside of it’s main distribution center including The Salvation Army, Bobcat Bounty and the TXST food pantry service. These additional satellite distribution sites allow those in need more flexibility in terms of food bank hours and locations.
The CTFB website has a ‘Find Food Now’ section, which will map out which food distributions are available in the area.
Young offered more resource suggestions, including Community Action, Inc. of Central Texas, a San Marcos based organization that provides utility assistance, adult education, health services and other resources. “Another great resource is the Hays County Health Department resource guide, they’re updating it every six months,” Young said.
The best way to support the food bank is through monetary donations. Funding has been uncertain after recent government cuts to grants and multiple nonprofits which partner with the food bank. Volunteering at the food bank is another way one can help those in need.
The Hays County Food Bank is located at 1612 S I-35 South Frontage Rd. in San Marcos. The facility can be accessed by car or bus on route 5. After moving to that location in August, the nonprofit has seen an increase in new client signups. In September the food bank distributed 28,000 pounds of food and received 577 new household applications. For more information on donating, volunteering, or food distribution sign ups and additional resources visit their website at haysfoodbank. org.
