For those who rely on SNAP, any reduction in food benefits can have a domino effect on how they pay their monthly bills. “The low-income families have to make a choice where they spend their money,” said Susan Diersen of the NACE Food Shelf. “Are they going to buy food for their children or are they going to pay the medical bills, are they going to pay their heating bills? That’s exactly what happens.” Diersen is bracing for an uptick in traffic because of the cuts.
SNAP reductions mean $250 less a month in food assistance for families and $170 for seniors. “Our amount of families served per week has increased 200 percent over last year,” Diersen said. “That is prior to this cut in SNAP funding.”
Safety net
NACE already gets 150 visits a week . The organization will continue to be a safety net for North Metro residents who struggle to put food on the table.
“Hopefully we can provide enough food for those single moms to get them through each month so that they don’t have to pay for food,” Diersen said, “and can make sure they are paying medical bills and heating and electricity.”
NACE has a wide range of food options, is available to anyone regardless of income and is always free.
“Definitely no one should go hungry and unfortunately in the United States and Minnesota a large portion of families are,” Diersen said.
The number of working poor in the US is growing. But some of these people are reluctant to get free food because they view it as charity.
“Each month we have about 40 new families that come to us for help – two years ago we had about five new families a month,” Diersen said. “So that shows how it’s impacting folks. But when those new families come it is often very difficult for them. They may shed tears or they are embarrassed. We do our best to make them feel comfortable, assure them that’s why we’re here and it’s not their fault they’re in this situation and give them the support they need.“
Because of rising inflation, grocery prices are up 11.7 percent. Approximately 38 percent of families in Minnesota use SNAP benefits.
