by Kathy Golson, senior director of advocacy and public policy

Congress returns from break this week to take up budget issues. Just prior to that recess, the House passed HCR 34, Chairman Ryan’s budget bill, which makes an 18 percent cut to the SNAP program (previously known as food stamps). One of the proposals under consideration in the House budget has been to convert the SNAP program to a block grant format beginning 2015. This would leave much of the decision making on SNAP to the states, and in a worst-case scenario, would leave it to the governor on how to use the money—meaning it could be used to fund other budget needs.

Watch the interview on FOX 7 :

Sometimes the numbers get a little dizzying – $127 billion in cuts over 10 years. What does it all mean, and how does this really impact my community, and my loved ones? Let’s get the facts.

1. How does the proposed conversion to a block grant change things?

Right now SNAP is an entitlement program, which means that qualified people can access the program at all times. Under this structure, the program responds to economic conditions. When there’s a recession and unemployment goes up, SNAP enrollment goes up, or when there’s a natural disaster, SNAP responds. Conversely, when times are good, SNAP enrollment goes down. Currently, 43 million people are receiving SNAP benefits; that’s 1 in 7 Americans. Under a block grant, it will be up to state and local governments to figure out how to make SNAP respond to need. Texas’s track record with SNAP enrollment and timeliness hasn’t been so stellar, and with looming budget cuts to the Health and Human Services department, (HHSC – who administer the SNAP program in Texas) piling on additional bureaucracy and administration would reverse the improvements they’ve recently made.

Additionally, under a block grant, Governor Perry could decide to shift funds away from food assistance and use it for other things, like say, that gaping hole in the Texas budget. How’s that for temptation?

2. Will SNAP be unavailable then to families that would have qualified before, or will SNAP eligible people get less benefits?

It could go either way or even a combination of both. Below are two scenarios on how SNAP could impact Central Texas families and the Food Bank’s ability to provide a hunger safety net.

Scenario 1 – SNAP eligibility is reduced.

We looked at the most recent data available at the HHSC website, March 2011 SNAP enrollment data for our 21 county service territory. Nearly $36 million in benefits were provided to more than 120 thousand households (called cases). The average SNAP benefit provided per case is $299. The Ryan cut would amount to about $6.4 million in reduced benefits affecting more than 21,000 households left to either fend for themselves or turn to CAFB and partners to get food each month. Yes monthly.

To provide some context, CAFB serves about 48,000 people each week. The average SNAP case provides emergency food for about 2.39 people. Imagine what a surge in 21,446 households each month would mean for our organization?

Scenario 2 – SNAP benefits are reduced

When benefits are reduced, meals go missing, or will need to be replaced by an alternate source such as the Food Bank. How many meals will be missed by the cuts?

Feeding America recently developed estimates for the average cost of a meal for different states as part of their Map the Meal Gap calculator. In Texas, an average meal costs about $2.36. We then determined how many meals could be provided with SNAP benefits, and how many meals families would lose due to the 18 percent proposed cuts. If the Ryan cuts were in place, those 120,000 SNAP households in our service territory would need to find a new source for 23 meals (or $53.82) each month if this legislation is approved.

Under any scenario, these cuts could devastate families’ abilities to properly feed and nourish themselves, create a new surge at food pantries and soup kitchens already struggling to provide nourishment to their existing clientele, and tax an ill-equipped and under funded state agency to respond to the need. Multiply that scenario by ten years and it’s a recipe for hunger and malnourishment in Central Texas.

Call your congressperson today.

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director

When a Texas school district shut its doors for a couple of weeks as a precaution for the H1N1 (Swine) Flu this past week, parents whose children rely on the free and reduced price school lunches faced an additional challenge. 

How will these parents financially support unplanned child care and keep their children well nourished for two weeks?

Disasters, from hurricanes to pandemics, interrupt employment and sever access to human service programs. Pandemic flu preparation and response methods, such as stockpiling food and water, pose a significant hardship for those struggling to have the basic necessities each day.  While pandemic flu does not discriminate, low-income people are particularly vulnerable in the event of an outbreak.

In addition to creating their own disaster response plan (read ours here), Food Banks work closely with federal, state, and local officials in distributing food, communicating information about food stamp access during a disaster and helping to expedite disaster food assistance through D-SNAP. 

What is D-SNAP?
The Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) provides replacement benefits for SNAP recipients during disaster. Eligibility criteria are broadened, and a streamlined application and issuance process extends benefits to households that would not ordinarily be eligible for SNAP. D-SNAP, like SNAP, is fully federally-funded and administered by states. Because federal nutrition programs are entitlements, they can respond quickly and effectively without waiting for further legislative action.   

While D-SNAP has a proven track record of effective relief after hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, the program needs improved flexibility so it can respond appropriately during a pandemic. Government and nonprofits will also need to work collaboratively and creatively to ensure we can meet the need.  The Capital Area Food Bank has been in contact with legislative representatives to address those concerns and offer suggestions to ensure food security in the case of a pandemic flu outbreak.

 A short personal story
 I was an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Food Bank when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast.  Since then, I have also been part of the Hurricane Ike response efforts at the Food Bank, where my role included increasing access to SNAP. As humbling of an experience it is to participate in disaster response here in Austin, I could not help but think of the many poor who were forgotten and disregarded.  Our shared responsibility to nourish the hungry is even greater in moments of crisis.

David Davenport
President and CEO

When disaster strikes, we are prepared to respond with food assistance and emergency supplies. We put an Influenza A H1N1 (Swine Flu) disaster plan in place in order to respond to the needs of our Partner Agencies, clients, volunteers and employees.

Our disaster plan includes:

• An internal action plan for CAFB to function at a disaster response level with fewer staff and minimal access to volunteers.
• Additional food, water and supplies have been ordered to supplement the disaster relief supplies in our warehouse. These items will support an extended local disaster.
• In the event that one-third of our Partner Agencies (food pantries, soup kitchens across Central Texas) is closed because of illness, CAFB will begin direct distribution from its warehouse at 8201 South Congress Avenue.
• Internal personal care protocols are upgraded to ensure a safe workspace and inhibit the spread of flu virus at our location.
• CAFB senior staff are prepared to instruct employees to work from home to maintain operations, if needed.
• CAFB will maintain open lines of communication with Central Texas VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), Texas Food Bank Network and Feeding America to coordinate needs and response.
• Senior staff is meeting daily to review and update our status.

As the need progresses, check back here for calls for public assistance.

The Capital Area Food Bank not only provides food, we also provide manpower to our sister food banks. Miguel Barthe, CAFB driver, helped The New Orleans Food Bank serve western parishes of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ike. He reports his experience:

Miguel Barthe

“As I started my trip to New Orleans it was a beautiful day. As I got into Houston I couldn’t help but notice the forces of nature and the devastation from Houston and all the way to New Orleans.

Trees were snapped like twigs, on top of homes, and there was water damage and debris everywhere. The water covered the streets. People were looking for friends, family, pets and even their personal belongings.

Flooding from Hurricane Ike

 

You can’t help but feel for the people that have lost so much. As an evacuee of Hurricane Katrina, my eyes are opened and I’m truly aware and saddened by this devastating reality.

During my stay, I helped the New Orleans Food Bank organize food and supplies and worked to distribute emergency packages as needed.

I’m amazed and thankful at the generosity of these communities and in working with the New Orleans Food Bank and the Food Bank in Austin, I’ve realized that this is such a great resource. The Food Banks really care.”

 

 

THANK YOU – We graciously thank all of the community members who donated their time and money to our Hurricane Ike relief efforts. As of 1 p.m. Monday, more than 375,000 pounds of food & supplies and $420,000 has been donated by Central Texas.

Dozens who volunteered for the first time at CAFB last week, including Dorothy Galloway who is living in Austin with her son until her home in Houston has electricity again. On Friday, Galloway filed papers, folded newsletters and helped the Food Bank staff with various projects.

“People have been kind to me, and I thought maybe I had something to give back,” Galloway said.

And many long-time volunteers have put in hours for Ike relief, too. Cliff Wilkes has sorted food donations once a week in the CAFB warehouse since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This week, Wilkes gave Hurricane Ike evacuees emergency food packages and saw the direct impact of volunteering at the Food Bank.

We would not be able to serve thousands of evacuees without the help of our volunteers, and equally as important are those who gave monetary contributions. A couple came in on their seventh wedding anniversary and gave $300.

“We decided to take all the money we would have spent on flowers, dinner and gifts and donate it to the Food Bank,” she said. “We are going to have a simple meal at home tonight.”

Ike Relief Update, as of 2pm Monday –

This week, we will send up to seven (7) tractor-trailers of food and supplies to the Houston Food Bank and Montgomery County Food Bank.  Each truck holds about 42,000 pounds.

CAFB staff deployed to help:
CAFB Warehouse Lead, Ryan Toups, is at the Houston Food Bank this week, assisting with shipping and receiving. CAFB driver, Miguel Barthe is helping the New Orleans Food Bank serve western parishes of Louisiana, which were impacted by both Gustav and Ike.

Evacuees staying in Central Texas can receive emergency food packages from our Partner Agencies throughout Central Texas.  We are working closely with our Partner Agencies to make sure they are stocked to meet the demand.  A referral list of agencies is at www.austinfoodbank.org

About 8,000 emergency food packages, total, have been distributed so far.

The Food Bank will continue to accept donations on-site, around the clock, Monday through Friday.  

MOST NEEDED: Canned meats and soups with pop-top lids, and diapers (adult and baby), Granola bars, Peanut butter, Personal care items (shampoo, toothbrushes, soap, feminine hygiene).

** We no longer need bottled water or pet food. **

EXTENDED: Emergency food packages are available at the Food Bank for evacuees staying in Central Texas. You can pick them up NOON - 5 p.m. NOW THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPT. 20.

After Saturday, evacuees can receive emergency food packages from CAFB Partner Agencies throughout Central Texas. We are working closely with our Partner Agencies to make sure they are stocked to meet the demand. View our referral list here. (pdf)

MOST NEEDED: Canned meats with pop-top lids, diapers (adult and baby), granola bars, peanut butter, personal care items including shampoo, toothbrushes, soap and feminine hygiene products.

**We no longer need bottled water or pet food.**

Tyson Foods - You might remember Tyson Food’s generous donation earlier this month. In response to disaster relief they have also donated truck loads of emergency food to affected Texas Food Banks including an additional truck to us. Thank you, Tyson Foods!

Save-A-Lot – Based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Save-A-Lot is an extreme value grocery store with several stores in Houston.

Save-A-Lot driver

They wanted to assist the local area evacuees and researched online, came across our blog and contacted us.

They donated almost 20,000 pounds of emergency items, including items we needed that weren’t on the list. Thank you, Save-A-Lot!

H-E-B – On Wed., Sept. 17, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the H-E-B on Parmer Lane and IH35 collected food and financial donations from the community for Hurricane Ike disaster relief.

With your help, we raised approximately 138,000 pounds of food and supplies and $65,000 in financial contributions.

David Davenport (left) and Mr. Everything (right)

In addition to the donations, we met David Zurovetz, a resident of Austin for 39 years who supports the community with enthusiasm and flare. He’s a friend of the Bucky & Bob show on 98.1KVET and is known to them as “Everything.”

Do you…

Live in one of the 29 counties declared a disaster area?
Have less than $5,000 in liquid resources (i.e., savings/checking account)?
Have a monthly income that does not exceed:

If so, you may qualify for two months of Emergency Food Stamps

This benefit will allow you to purchase groceries for your family, as well as hot, ready-to-eat food. The average benefit is $93 per-month!

Household Size Gross income:

1                                                $1,430

2                                                 1,925

3                                                 2,420

4                                                 2,915

Each additional person                        +495
To apply for Emergency Food Stamps

Bring proof of your identity & residence to one of Austin’s food stamps offices:

1601 RUTHERFORD LN – 512-339-8868
1165 AIRPORT BLVD – 512-929-7330
724 EBERHART LN – 512-445-0022 (closest office to the Food Bank)

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, 67,000 pounds of food & supplies and $180,000 has been donated by the public. When we sent out an emergency call for help to the community, you responded in a big way. Thank you for acting so quickly!

Today’s relief efforts started at 5 a.m. as staff went live from our warehouse with local stations News 8 Austin, and FOX 7. Volunteers helped throughout the morning to prepare hundreds of emergency food packages for today’s distribution at the Food Bank and to send to Partner Agencies. As volunteers and staff prepared for the noon distribution, a line of cars formed through our parking lot all the way to William Cannon and I-35. Commander Calvin Smith of the SE Area Command sent an officer to assist with traffic as we begin serving evacuees.

Thanks to the many donations on our website and at the Food Bank, about 2,500 food packages have been distributed so far, and we were able to quickly purchase additional food with the money donated over the past few days for our upcoming distributions.

Special thanks to Whole Foods Southwest Distribution for donating a tractor trailer load of water (40,920 lbs). Whole Foods volunteered to continue collecting food at their downtown store since last week’s HAM-up Grill up. Just look for the blue barrel in the front of the store.

Supporting our Sister Food Banks
In addition to supporting evacuees in Austin, the Food Bank answered the Brazos Valley Food Bank’s call for assistance. We sent almost 17,000 pounds of emergency items yesterday.

Miguel Barthe, a Katrina evacuee from New Orleans, and Food Bank driver, volunteered to support the New Orleans Food Bank for the upcoming week. Miguel, who has not been back to New Orleans since the Katrina evacuation three years ago, looks forward to reuniting with his hometown. “I wanted to help New Orleans, just like Austin helped me,” he said, “and it will be good to see my family too.”

Food Drive at H-E-B Wednesday
On Wednesday September 17, H-E-B on Parmer Lane at IH-35 will host a food drive from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Please donate our most-needed items as well as financial donations. Blue Whale Moving and Storage company is helping transport donated items to the Food Bank, saving us fuel and transportation costs.

Learn more and donate at austinfoodbank.org.
Visit our “I want to help” page on austinfoodbank.org to get the latest information on most needed items, volunteer opportunities and how to donate.

If you know someone that needs help, please visit our “I need help” page, with the latest information on Emergency Food Stamps.

View the Hurricane Ike Relief photo album on flickr.com.

Thank you for your continued support!

Jack Buxton

More than 1,600 Hurricane Ike evacuees not staying at local shelters made their way to the Capital Area Food Bank on Monday to pick up emergency food boxes. Evacuees may not be able to return to their homes for another 4 to 6 weeks, and many have already run out of money to provide for themselves while they temporarily stay with relatives or friends. Supplies ran out at 2 p.m. Monday, forcing CAFB employees to regretfully turn some away.

Jeannette Britnell and daughter

Jack Buxton, a floral arranger from Galveston, is staying with his daughter in Austin. He learned about the emergency food boxes on News 8 and was grateful to receive the food that will provide for himself, his girlfriend and her two children in the days to come. “We had limited money that we brought, and now that is running out. I don’t want to be a burden on my daughter. Her husband just got laid off.”

Buxton’s boss already told him to file for unemployment, since there is no way to know when the flower store will have regular business again.

Families waiting for food boxes at CAFB

Many Hurricane Ike evacuees are fortunate to have loved ones house them and offer moral support. But many of the evacuees expressed sentiments of not wanting to impose on their Austin relatives who may have limited resources. Yolanda Gutierrez and eleven extended family members are staying in Austin with in-laws. They evacuated from Texas City with a week’s worth of clothes, some water and any dry goods they already had from their pantries. Although friends of their relatives gave Gutierrez’s family some food, twelve mouths is a lot to feed. Right now, the Food Bank is their only source of food. “The items provided [in the box] are very helpful. Soups, beans, things that children can eat.” Gutierrez has experience with emergency food boxes: her own church, where her husband is the pastor, has a food pantry that gives to the community every other week. “We are just very thankful. It’s nice to know that we can depend on the Food Bank here in Austin.”

Tera and Kim Denney

Jeannette Britnell, a retiree from Orange, found out about CAFB’s emergency food boxes when she and her family went looking for help at an Austin area Goodwill. Britnell says she doesn’t know what condition her house is in, or even when she can return home. The assurance of receiving a food box, and the news that CAFB was also giving out dog food, allowed her to temporarily relax. “Altogether we have six dogs. They’re all small, but we had to bring them.” The only other items that Britnell was able to fit in the family car were some clothes and her oxygen machine, giving her no choice but to leave everything else behind. “I had a little bit of cash with me, and I spent it on groceries yesterday. It didn’t last long.”

Kim Denney and her thirteen year old daughter, Tera, evacuated from Lumberton to stay at a motel in the small town of Giddings, Texas. They drove an hour west to Austin this morning because they heard about the assistance CAFB was offering people. Denney and her daughter were grateful to receive “substantial food” and “something other than Ramen noodles” which is what the two have been eating for the past few days. Tera Denney choked up while expressing her appreciation. “We didn’t bring much food, clothing or anything like that. It is just a big thank you. My mom and I both started crying the other day because we couldn’t pay for anything. We didn’t have enough money. My nanny had to give us $200 today to pay for the next few days of the hotel room.”

Everyday survival may still be a struggle for evacuees for some time, even after they can return home. “We just had gone shopping and our freezer had a bunch of food in it,” said Denney. “It’s all gonna be ruined when we get back.”

As of 4:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15

Donations depleted. Urgent call for more donations. As of 2:00 p.m. the Food Bank is unable to fulfill emergency boxes onsite.
Food Bank utilizing $25,000 donated from public to purchase more food and supplies.

MOST NEEDED RIGHT NOW: POP-TOP CANNED MEATS, PEANUT BUTTER AND PERSONAL CARE ITEMS (SHAMPOO, TOOTHPASTE, FEMININE HYGEINE, ETC.)
The Food Bank will accept donations around the clock THROUGH FRIDAY, SEPT. 19.

• Bottled water
• Canned meats (pop-top lids)
• Granola bars
• Peanut butter
• Diapers (adult and baby) and wipes

Donate online at www.austinfoodbank.org. You can designate your donation to Ike relief.

Need Help?

Resuming Tuesday at noon, emergency food boxes are available at the Food Bank for evacuees not staying at shelters (staying with family, friends, or otherwise). They can pick them up noon – 5 p.m. THROUGH FRIDAY, SEPT. 19 at: 8201 S. Congress Ave, between William Cannon & Slaughter Lane.

About 1,000 food boxes have been distributed so far to shelters and individuals.