By Ethan Kramer
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The Great Plains Food Bank is gearing up for the potential of SNAP benefits being suspended nationwide on November 1st if the government shutdown continues.
The Great Plains Food Bank serves as North Dakota’s only food bank and a leading hunger-relief organization.
“It’s super concerning because even today we aren’t able to meet the needs of every North Dakotan who is food insecure even with SNAP, so the loss of SNAP would be really significant,” said Kate Molbert, the Interim CEO at Great Plains Food Bank.
On Wednesday, Senator John Hoeven spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate, asking for his colleagues to vote to open the government or things like SNAP could be put on halt.
“States are now warning that will be forced to shut down SNAP as soon as November 1st if the shutdown continues. That means millions of Americans could lose assistance that helps them put food on the table,” said North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven.
The suspension would affect millions in the program, which provides monthly food assistance to eligible low-income individuals and families.
“SNAP is such an amazing tool that is historically and has been studied deeply to pull people out of poverty,” said Molbert.
In Minnesota, on average, per month, 440,000 residents receive SNAP benefits and in North Dakota, SNAP benefits support about 60,000 individuals.
“SNAP (is a) fundamental distribution of a fundamental staple in our personal health. Obviously, food it’s a big deal that’s going to affect a lot of people. That’s why this is so peculiar that democrats have chosen to go this route,” said North Dakota U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer.
Now with the November 1st deadline looming, the Great Plains Food Bank is gearing up for increased demand.
“Our sourcing team is looking at ways to ramp up donations. How can we purchase as quickly as possible where there are gaps in access that we need to fill,” said Molbert
Senator Cramer tells me they are working on a bill in the Senate to keep SNAP funded before the November 1 deadline.
