| Muncie Star Press | - |
MUNCIE
- Try feeding a family of three - including a growing teenage son -
with nearly $29 less than you had last month. Families receiving
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars - also known as food
stamps - will have to figure this out sooner ...
Local residents deal with loss in food stamp benefits
Nov. 1, 2013 4:35 PM
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Becki Clock
MUNCIE — Try feeding a family of three - including a growing teenage son - with nearly $29 less than you had last month.
Families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars - also known as food stamps - will have to figure this out sooner than later as decreases went into effect on Nov. 1.
“I never thought I’d ever be on food stamps in the first place, but after my divorce I didn’t know what else to do. I was broke. Now, it’s getting harder by the month,” said Melinda Wright, a food stamp recipient with two children, a 5-year-old and a 14-year-old. “I wish some of these congressmen and the president would have to be on food stamps for a month to see what it’s like. You’re not overflowing with money.”
The estimated $5 billion decrease in the program is a result of the end of the 2009 stimulus bill, which provided families with extra food stamp dollars for the last four years.
In Delaware County, where 20,383 people receive benefits, that’s an estimated loss of $196,318 per month in SNAP benefits.
Each family doesn’t receive the same amount of food stamp dollars. Benefits are determined by family size and income.
The Indiana Family and Social Service Administration, which oversees the state’s food stamp program, estimates families will see a 5 to 10 percent decrease in their benefits beginning this month.
For those not living paycheck to paycheck, 5 to 10 percent - or $29 for Wright’s family - may not seem like a big deal. But for families struggling to get by - including those with 40-hour a week jobs - that’s enough of a drop to wonder where to go for help.
“I understand the recession may be over, but not the hurts from the recession,” said Kalani Kamakavivole, the program manager for Bridges Community Services, a social service agency that helps families with housing and government assistance program. “Most of our families - I’d say 60 percent of them - may be able to work around the drop. But for the rest of them, I’m not sure what they’ll do. We all know there isn’t enough money to go around for every program, but what are families supposed to do?”
Families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars - also known as food stamps - will have to figure this out sooner than later as decreases went into effect on Nov. 1.
“I never thought I’d ever be on food stamps in the first place, but after my divorce I didn’t know what else to do. I was broke. Now, it’s getting harder by the month,” said Melinda Wright, a food stamp recipient with two children, a 5-year-old and a 14-year-old. “I wish some of these congressmen and the president would have to be on food stamps for a month to see what it’s like. You’re not overflowing with money.”
The estimated $5 billion decrease in the program is a result of the end of the 2009 stimulus bill, which provided families with extra food stamp dollars for the last four years.
In Delaware County, where 20,383 people receive benefits, that’s an estimated loss of $196,318 per month in SNAP benefits.
Each family doesn’t receive the same amount of food stamp dollars. Benefits are determined by family size and income.
The Indiana Family and Social Service Administration, which oversees the state’s food stamp program, estimates families will see a 5 to 10 percent decrease in their benefits beginning this month.
For those not living paycheck to paycheck, 5 to 10 percent - or $29 for Wright’s family - may not seem like a big deal. But for families struggling to get by - including those with 40-hour a week jobs - that’s enough of a drop to wonder where to go for help.
“I understand the recession may be over, but not the hurts from the recession,” said Kalani Kamakavivole, the program manager for Bridges Community Services, a social service agency that helps families with housing and government assistance program. “Most of our families - I’d say 60 percent of them - may be able to work around the drop. But for the rest of them, I’m not sure what they’ll do. We all know there isn’t enough money to go around for every program, but what are families supposed to do?”
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