A Message from FairShare on SNAP and food security

To our FairShare community: 

As we enter the month of November, we are immediately seeing the impact of the loss of SNAP (food stamp) benefits on food assistance programs and the emergency food system. 

Through the Partner Shares program, 53 people use SNAP to pay for their CSA shares directly. An additional 30 participants receive SNAP benefits and pay for their shares through alternate payment methods. 

This is a small example of how the SNAP program directly impacts our local food economies. People who receive SNAP get to choose where to spend their food dollars, and many choose to support local farmers - through CSA with programs like the Partner Shares Program or farmers markets with the support of the Double Dollars program. 

SNAP benefits also help limited-income households increase their overall purchasing power. By providing more resources for households to access food, SNAP helps free up cash to buy other essential items. Each dollar in federally funded SNAP benefits generates $1.73 in economic activity. 

With the current lapse in SNAP benefits, pantries are seeing exponential growth in requests for assistance. SNAP, along with programs that help recipients of federally funded benefits maximize their purchasing power, takes the pressure off emergency feeding programs like food pantries. 

Loss of SNAP affects so many in our community - from families and children who receive SNAP, to local farmers and the small retailers who accept it, to the food pantries that fill the gaps when need increases. We are all seeing the shift of where people access food and how their buying power is affected. 

In a country of abundance where so many people face hunger and poverty, we will continue supporting farmers and eaters as we all navigate the changing landscape of food access work.