Nov. 1-from rows of tuna fish to ramen noodles, military personnel and volunteers dropped off donated food items in white cardboard boxes on Saturday for another day’s “emergency food drive.” The effort was building up to the upcoming Murky of Federal Food Aid and the Record-Breaking Turnout at the Salvation Army Spokesperson last month.
“We are raising food due to increased demand based on the government’s burnout and some of the challenges surrounding working families right now,” Capt Day said.
The Trump Administration has refused to use $6 billion in emergency funds to fund food stamps, or the food assistance program, starting this weekend amid the government shutdown. However, two judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot use those funds to pay for food aid. More than 40 million Americans, including 83,000 County residents, have used the program to help them afford food.
Judges gave the Trump administration until Monday to come up with a plan to continue paying Snap dividends, but it’s unclear whether those payments will resume.
Washington Gov. Feruson announced last week that he will direct $2.2 million a week to get more money for food banks in the region.
Cain said he has seen an increase in families using the Salvation Army Food Pantry in the northwest, located on Indiana Avenue between Lidgerwood and Ruby streets, before the beginning of November when the temporary suspension began.
Cain said the pantry, one of the largest food pantries in Spokane County, serves about 170 families a day. That rate exceeded several days in late October, including one day when more than 270 families turned in food, mostly at a food distribution center.
The Saturday meal is aimed at bringing back the shelves to meet the “unprecedented” demand, seen not only in the state’s only food court, according to the organization in a news release.
Salvation Arms staff and volunteers held a drive, in partnership with Walmart, under the Stile Spylikation canopy outside the doors of the Shadle Park Walmart in North Spokamane.
The drive delivered an estimated 1 to 2 servings of food, according to the Salvation Army.
Christine Carlle and Victoria Nikodemus were among the first to donate on Saturday. When asked why they decided to donate food, both women, who donate at different times, said, “People need food.”
“This is one of the richest nations in the world,” Carlele said. “We shouldn’t have hungry people in this country. So, it just worries me.”
The women donated cereal, dozens of cans of tuna fish, high-quality ramen, soup, peanut butter, bread, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese and other food items.
Both called the federal government’s decision to freeze Snap’s benefits “ridiculous.”
“You shouldn’t use food or people’s medical benefits or things people need as political weapons,” Carlele said.
Nicodemus said he knows many people with health problems who are on food stamps.
“Why do people play with food?” he said of the Trump Administration’s decision. “It’s funny.”
Cain said many people rely on snap targets and frozen meals to meet their needs. Several families who use the Salvation Army Food Pantry are experiencing homelessness and are making difficult decisions between buying food and paying bills.
“Often we tend to confuse that with other really challenging decisions,” Cain said.
Cain said the end of the month is usually a very busy place to eat as people’s snap benefits end, but given the benefits of Federal Foot Activeinties assistance, Cain does not expect it to be slow to start in November.
The Salvation Army’s Food Pantry is under construction to add space, which is expected to be completed in December. Cain said the organization planned to close the pantry for two weeks to transition to a new space but decided against it because of the growing food needs of the community.
“We’re right on the brink of that construction project being finished, but we knew this wasn’t the time to do that, so we stayed in our temporary space,” Cain said.
He said the renovated pantry, funded by a $500,000 grant from the city of Sport, will triple in size and offer more options for people with limited and cultural choices.
“We are very excited in December to open our customer service menu – a better choice to serve better and serve more to serve the needs of these families,” said Cain.
The pantry will explore additional hours to help serve families each next Wednesday, Cain said.
Starting this Wednesday, the pantry will open in the afternoon at 6:30 pm every other day it will continue to work from 10 am to 3 pm
All donations from Saturday’s Food Drive will go to the Salvation Army’s Spokely Pantry. The public can continue to donate food to the organization at 222 E. Indiana Ave. or by making monetary donations online at makingspokanebetter.org.
“This challenge pushes people to the edge if it doesn’t happen with their community at the top, so one of the things we like about our communication methods here is how open our neighbors are in these challenging times,” said Cain.
