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In response to federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits not being issued in Indiana on Nov. 1 due to the federal shutdown, three DeKalb County organizations are teaming up to launch a “hunger rapid relief fund” to provide support.
In response, Fortify Life, United Way of DeKalb County and the Community Foundation DeKalb County have launched the DeKalb County Hunger Rapid Relief Fund to provide immediate and coordinated support to local food banks, pantries and residents.
“Federal food assistance (SNAP) benefi ts were not issued in Indiana on Nov. 1, leaving thousands of families without the benefits they rely on to buy groceries,” Fortify Life development manager Sydney Kent said in a news release.
“According to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s most recent monthly management report, $445,345 in SNAP benefi ts were issued to 2,479 DeKalb County residents in September,” Kent said in the news release. “That means $445,345 will not enter the local economy or into the hands of families in need this month alone. Local food banks and community pantries are already over capacity and in need of resources.
“When nearly half a million dollars in grocery support disappears overnight, our community feels it immediately,” Kent added. “Food pantries cannot absorb this impact alone. Local nonprofits, churches and community members who are desperately refilling pantries cannot fi x this alone. Families in our community have empty plates. This is the time to pull up a chair.”
“Hunger touches every corner of our community — a child unable to focus in school, a family choosing between groceries and gas, a senior stretching every dollar,” said Tyler Cleverly, executive director of United Way of DeKalb County.
“This is not something any one organization can solve in isolation. United Way of DeKalb County is committed to working side-by-side with our partners to coordinate resources, support those on the front lines, and make sure our neighbors have what they need. United is the way we get through this — together,” Cleverly said.
The Rapid Relief Fund will:
• Issue $1,000 in immediate relief funding to local food pantries in DeKalb County through the Rapid Hunger Relief Fund.
• Connect pantries, nonprofits, churches, schools, transportation providers, and donors to work in real time; and
• Provide a centralized online hub where families can fi nd help, and community members can donate, volunteer or give food.
“Our mission is to encourage philanthropy. And now is the time for us to do that together because feeding our neighbors isn’t political, it’s simply about taking care of one another,” said Tanya Young, executive director of Community Foundation DeKalb County.
A county-wide coalition meeting will be scheduled in the coming days. All churches, nonprofits, schools, food pantries and concerned community members are encouraged to participate.
Anyone interested in locating current food resources, donating to the fund, volunteering at a DeKalb County food pantry or joining the coalition should visit www.unitedwaydekalb.org/keepfamiliesfed