Micciche Proclamation Declares September Hunger Action Month
Micciche Proclamation Declares September Hunger Action Month Author: Nick Sorrell | September 5, 2024 September in the Kenai Peninsula Borough now has a new focus: caring for those struggling with food insecurity and working to ensure fewer people go hungry. Borough Mayor Peter Micciche’s proclamation during Tuesday night’s Borough Assembly meeting officially declared September “Hunger Action Month.” “With deep concern for the more than 44 million Americans nationwide who face difficulty assuring where their family’s next meal will come from, including nearly 100,000 Alaskans, 30,110 of whom are children, who face food insecurity, the Kenai Peninsula borough joins with the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank to support national hunger awareness campaign to feed to the hungry,” said Mayor Micciche. According to the proclamation, more than 22,000 individuals on the Kenai Peninsula rely on food provided by the local Food Bank every year–19% of those are children. Kenai Peninsula Food Bank Executive Director Greg Meyer attended the assembly meeting to accept the official proclamation document. He expressed his gratitude and praised the role supporters play in the success of non-profits. “Nonprofits are only as strong as a community, and this community has really been behind the food bank and all the efforts that we have. We greatly appreciate that,” Meyer said. ” We’ve had the pandemic, and then we have the SNAP issues, and we’ve been able to navigate all that and make sure that all our neighbors on the peninsula. And again, that only comes from all the support that we get from the community and from the leadership here. And we’re very grateful for that and thank you very much.” Meyer is retiring from his position as executive director later this month after more than six years in the position. For more information, visit radiokenai.com.
TEFAP: Why Some Food Banks Say, ‘No Thanks’
TEFAP: Why Some Food Banks Say, ‘No Thanks’ JULY 24, 2024 It’s fair to say that most food banks generally appreciate the Emergency Food Assistance Program. It’s the only federal nutrition program specifically geared toward food banks, providing them with a wide variety of fresh, frozen and canned foods. Most of the food is healthy, and all of it comes from U.S. growers and producers. Feeding America calls TEFAP a “cornerstone” of its food supply, providing about 30% of the food distributed through its network and offering access to more than 120 nutritious foods. Even so, small pockets of resistance toward TEFAP exist. That’s because of certain requirements placed on people receiving the food. The federal government asks that people receiving TEFAP food submit four pieces of information, including name, number of people in the household, address, and a declaration of income. States can and do add on their own requirements, such as verification of income. That information-gathering doesn’t sit well with some hunger relief organizations. West Side Campaign Against Hunger in New York City, for example, is required to have its customers sign off every year that they are living below a certain income level. “We say that having to attest once a year that you’re living in poverty is one time too many,” said Greg Silverman, Executive Director, during his keynote speech at the New York State Food Summit last month. “That’s not dignity.” Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin believes strongly that collecting data is a barrier to food, said Michelle Orge, President and Executive Director. Alyson Rosenthal, Chief Program Officer, also acknowledged West Side Campaign Against Hunger’s strategic decision not to accept TEFAP during a presentation at last month’s Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. “It’s against our value set to create barriers to food,” she said. “The attestation of income is just not how we want to run our food pantry. So until those rules get changed, we are no longer accepting TEFAP and that’s not part of our programming.” That value set also aligns with how Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin thinks about data collection related to TEFAP. “Philosophically, we don’t collect data on an individual level from any of the folks who come to our mobile pantries or any of our programs,” said Michelle Orge, President and Executive Director. “We believe, and our board has believed for many years, that collecting data is a barrier to food.” Soon, Second Harvest will begin receiving TEFAP food and redistributing it to some of its partners, which in turn will hand it out to clients. But it will never distribute TEFAP food to its own mobile pantries, school markets, kids cafes, or other distribution outlets that it operates, Orge said. “If you let us in on the TEFAP contract, you’re going to hear from us about our disdain for the amount of data that you’re requiring to be collected,” she said. Northwest Harvest, based in Seattle, Wa., is also opposed to data collection. In fact, it won’t take any government contract or grant that requires it to do reporting, including TEFAP, said Thomas Reynolds, CEO. If it can’t get waived from the reporting requirements, then it won’t accept the contract or grant. “It’s not because we think reporting is bad,” Reynolds said, noting that there’s nothing sinister about providing information when the service makes sense, such as an address for home delivery. “What we recognize is that for some people, providing information could be terrifying and could be life-changing. And so we offer the alternative to people who do not need to be documented to have a place to go.” Other ways to collect insightful data already exist, noted Thomas Reynolds, CEO of Northwest Harvest. Reynolds questioned the government’s purpose for collecting personal data in the first place, given that many other sources for it, such as tax returns, already exist. Northwest Harvest was able to get “phenomenal insights” from research conducted by the University of Washington, including dietary preferences, household sizes, and the number of households represented in a car traveling a distance in a rural area to get food. “I would say the purpose and the utility behind reporting can be achieved in a better way,” Reynolds said. For the vast majority of food banks, TEFAP’s role as a reliable source of nutritious food far outweighs any considerations about data collection. Food banks widely agree that TEFAP should get more funding, with Feeding America urging an increase to more than $700 million in the upcoming farm bill to cover food, as well as related storage and distribution costs. Food banks are also taking various steps to improve TEFAP. Capital Area Food Bank, for example, recently produced a report aimed at making access to the program more equitable between states. Acting upon that idea, Facing Hunger Foodbank and God’s Pantry Food Bank in the neighboring states of West Virginia and Kentucky eliminated differences in income eligibility between their states, allowing residents of both states to access TEFAP food no matter where they live or work. Michelle Douglas, CEO of Emergency Food Network, an independent food bank south of Tacoma, Wa., said she has been part of a group working to reduce barriers to accessing TEFAP. Among the changes implemented: “There can no longer be a required signature, you don’t have to present ID and you absolutely do not have to present an electric bill or anything like that,” she said. “In general, we’ve been trying to reduce every single barrier” to TEFAP, though a self-attestation of income is still required. Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares in New York, said that clients of Long Island Cares’ partner agencies and of the six pantries that it operates itself have not pushed back on the information they’re required to give to receive TEFAP food. TEFAP has become a significant source of food for Long Island Cares, which estimated it would bring in more than 3.5 million pounds of TEFAP food this year, an increase of about 39% from last year. “We continue
Kenai Peninsula Food Bank Expands Reach In 2023 Despite Challenges, Annual Report Says
Author: Nick Sorrell | April 9, 2024 Every year, the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank publishes an annual report recapping the scope of services offered to those in need on the Kenai Peninsula. In 2023, despite a SNAP backlog affecting thousands of Alaskans, increases in food and fuel costs, decreases in government commodities, and a lingering post-COVID increase in demand, the KP Food Bank still managed to not only meet needs but even expand and increase its support to new communities. Executive Director Greg Meyer says the Food Bank’s success on the peninsula is largely due to the generosity and support of its many volunteers, sponsors, and donors. “It’s because of this amazing community that we can do what we do. I mean, it just never ceases to amaze me, and we’re so grateful.” In 2023, over 200 volunteers donated over 6,500 hours, helping in food distribution, operations, remodeling, and events, which Meyer puts into a staggering dollar figure. “The volunteer hours this year were over 6,500. So, if you take the government-assigned value of $31.80 an hour, that’s over $200,000 worth of volunteer time that was donated to the food bank in addition to all the rest of this. So, that is remarkable.” The challenges facing the KPFB in 2023 were substantial, beginning with another increase in individuals experiencing food insecurity. According to the report, 1 in 9 people–including 1 in 8 children–on the Kenai Peninsula suffer from food insecurity. The increased demands on food banks were compounded by a 74% decrease in commodities offered by the government. Perhaps the greatest challenge to food banks in 2023, however, was the immense SNAP backlog, which began in Aug. 2022 and wasn’t fully cleared up until Sept. 2023. During that time, tens of thousands of Alaskans relied solely on food banks as they waited months for the approval of their SNAP benefits. Yet, the KPFB, which served a staggering 46 different distribution points across the peninsula, was able to expand and increase its reach. The annual report highlights the role of supporters in this success. “Throughout 2023, your support went towards expanding our reach and increasing the assistance we provide to communities such as Hope, Nanwalek, Tyonek, [and] Seward.” View the entire 2023 annual report on the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank’s website. To learn more, visit radiokenai.com.
Food for Food Banks and Press Release
As Alaska pays millions to fix food stamp backlog, lawmakers suggest systemic fixes
Senate committee hears bill intended to ease access to federal food aid program BY: CLAIRE STREMPLE – FEBRUARY 15, 2024 5:58 AM A pair of bills before lawmakers would make systemic changes to the way the state’s food stamp program processes applications and could expand access to food aid for Alaskans. The legislation comes after more than a year of extreme delays in food stamp distribution across the state that have left thousands of vulnerable Alaskans without aid for months at a time, which has driven many into debt and inundated food pantries with food insecure families. Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy put roughly $60 million towards relief for the backlog through computer upgrades, contract workers, and food for the state’s overwhelmed food pantries. The problem has persisted, so this year the governor’s budget proposal would put another $8.8 million towards alleviating the burden of the backlog in processing food stamp applications through additions to staff and add $5 million for aid to food pantries. The new legislation to make systemic changes was first introduced in the House last year, by Rep. Genevieve Mina, D-Anchorage, and in the Senate, by Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage. House Bill 196 has been held in committee since last May. But the Senate version, Senate Bill 149, received its first committee hearing on Tuesday. Giessel said the change would streamline administration and suggested it may help keep the state out of future backlogs. She acknowledged that it would come with costs, but reminded the Senate Health and Social Services Committee that the state is already paying millions to fix a problem it could be preventing. “Not doing this will cost us millions, and will leave people without food,” she said. The bill would change the way the Alaskans are authorized for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as food stamps or SNAP benefits, by implementing what is known as broad-based categorical eligibility. That means people who already qualify for other kinds of benefits could be automatically eligible for SNAP, which proponents say could reduce processing times. Alaska is currently among only nine states that do not use broad-based categorical eligibility. It would also increase the amount of money Alaskans can make and still receive benefits and eliminate an asset requirement that prevented food aid recipients from accumulating more than $2,750 in savings. Hunger advocates say savings are important to breaking the cycle of poverty and getting Alaskans out of the program. Food pantries and other food aid agencies across the state testified to the need for expanded access to the food stamp program. Ron Meehan, policy and advocacy manager for Food Bank of Alaska, said his organization supports the legislation because no other program is as effective as SNAP in reducing hunger in the state. “We’ve directly seen that when SNAP doesn’t work, Alaskans in need are turning to our network of food banks and food pantries that are already stretched thin. Food banks and food shelters continue to see just incredibly high levels of need at really record levels of use,” he said. “Simply put, this legislation will make the program work better.” Eddy Ezell, from the Mat-Su Food Bank, said he used to see up to 100 patrons daily, but that number has risen up to about 150 patrons a day. He urged lawmakers to make the change. Greg Meyer from the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank in Soldotna told legislators that the asset test often works against Alaskans trying to work their way out of poverty or food instability. He described how when family members gave a car to the recently employed mother in one family his organization works with, it put them over the asset limit and would have jeopardized their food benefit. “That car put them over the top, so she ended up quitting her job. And I just feel like that’s counterproductive to the work that we’re trying to do,” he said. Erin Walker-Tolles, director of Catholic Community Services in Juneau, said the bill would increase access to food assistance for vulnerable seniors like those her organization serves hot meals. She said her clients often have to choose between food and other expenses, like medication, heat or rent. “It’s a smart choice, too, because this will save all communities money. Seniors who are better fed have less health issues, less emergency response, and less time in the hospital — that’s often picked up by social services, by the cost of the hospital, by the communities as a whole,” she said. Walker-Tolles formerly directed the SNAP program, and said she knows the bill would be useful within the state Health Department as well as for citizens. “It should save the state money, and help them work down the backlog. It is both smart and right to do,” she said. Learn more at alaskabeacon.com/2024/02/15/as-alaska-pays-millions-to-fix-food-stamp-backlog-lawmakers-suggest-systemic-fixes/.
Alaska’s federal food stamp funding at risk, USDA letter warns
Alaska’s Department of Health risks losing federal funding for its food stamp program, warned a letter from the United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday. It said the department is out of compliance with federal standards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to what it described as “inefficient and ineffective administration.” The Department of Health has struggled to manage a backlog of crisis proportions that began in 2022 and has left tens of thousands of Alaskans waiting months for critical food aid. Commissioner Heidi Hedberg has said the backlog was caused by a cyberattack, outdated computer systems and a huge influx of paperwork after the state ended its public health emergency. Sources inside and outside the division have said the problem traces back much further and that chronic understaffing and deep workforce cuts in 2021 are to blame. In December, Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed spending an additional $8.8 million on 30 additional full-time employees to process applications at the Division of Public Assistance and $5 million to bolster supplies at the state’s food banks. The SNAP application process should include an application form, an interview with the applicant and a process to verify the applicant is eligible. The federal government allowed Alaska’s overworked Division of Public Assistance to pause interviews as an onslaught of post-pandemic recertifications caused its backlog to surge. When its backlog ballooned again this fall, Alaska’s Department of Health has suspended the requisite interviews to speed up its recertification process for benefits, even though the USDA told it not to do so. The state informed the USDA that it would continue its waivers in late November and the USDA repeated its denial in early December, according to the letter. “We really needed to take those dramatic steps in order to ensure that Alaskans can have access to food,” Division of Public Assistance Director Deb Etheridge said at the time. USDA insists on interviews because they ensure households receive the correct amount of benefits. The letter pointed out that this step is critical in Alaska, where the payment error rate is the highest in the nation. Division Director Deb Etheridge has said this number was skewed by the waiver the state was granted last year. Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg also told legislators that the division is authorizing food stamp recertifications without verifying the information in the applications if that information is not readily available. The letter warned this is also against the rules and is likely contributing to the state’s high rate of overpayments. USDA Regional Administrator Jesus Mendoza Jr. warned that the violations could result in a suspension or “disallowance” of the federal funds the state uses to maintain the program. Further, he wrote that if there has been a major, systemic error in the state’s processing, it could leave Alaska on the hook to reimburse any overpayments. He told the Department of Health it must immediately resume interviews for SNAP applications or recertifications and start verifying required information. He gave the department 14 days to do so. In an email, Hedberg said the Department of Health has not yet responded to the letter. “We remain in complete transparency in our communications with FNS and USDA regarding our areas of focus and concern as well as our evolving plans to address them,” she said. “We continue to work with USDA and our teams to outline a path forward that is achievable without compromising efficiency. We are not interested in creating a new backlog just so we can ‘check a box.’” She added that the Division of Public Assistance has whittled the backlog down to 3,500 and is on track to be caught up by the end of the month — and that is their primary focus. For more information, visit foodbankofalaska.org.
Alaska receives $5.9M in federal aid for rural summer food program
Alaska has received $5.9 million in federal funding for a summer food program meant to help reduce food insecurity in rural communities by providing weekly shipments of shelf-stable meals to 4,000 eligible kids beginning in May. The project, announced this month by U.S. Department of Agriculture, is meant to help make up for the loss of free school lunches provided during the school year in communities where food costs are high and many families qualify for free or reduced lunches. The news comes a week after Alaska announced that it was one of 15 states to reject federal funding that would have provided direct grocery assistance this summer to thousands of families. The state cited a major food stamp application backlog at the Alaska Division of Public Assistance as the reason. In an interview, state and federal officials said this new program, which will be paid for by a three-year grant to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, or DEED, is separate from the rejected grocery assistance program and has been in the works for months. The program was approved after a visit federal officials made to Alaska, where they observed that existing summer food programs that involve sponsoring agencies that serve freshly prepared, onsite meals don’t work as well in rural Alaska, said Jesus Mendoza, western regional administrator with the USDA. “We realize that Alaska is very unique — the vast geographic area, the lack of accessible roads,” Mendoza said, noting that many families often spend their summers at fish camp or hunting. “During the summer months, it is really hard for children to congregate in communal areas.” The boxes will include ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch and snacks for eligible students in 11 school districts — including Bering Strait, Dillingham, Kashunamiut, Kodiak, Lower Kuskokwim, Nenana, Nome, Valdez, Yukon Flats, Yupiit and the Northwest Arctic Borough. “It’ll have milk, it’ll have food,” said Gavin Northey, child nutrition programs manager with the state. “All of those, especially when we get to rural, remote parts of Alaska, have an extraordinary cost. So being able to deliver that to Alaskans in some of our most remote locations is just an immense benefit to our children.” Families whose children quality for free or reduced lunches based on household income are eligible, as are families who receive food stamp benefits, Mendoza said. Northey said that while the program will be limited to foods that can survive weekslong trips through the mail service in varying temperatures, the boxes will include items like dried or canned fruits and vegetables, dried or cured meats and ultra pasteurized cheeses. It is modeled after a three-year food assistance project launched by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic that involved the same 11 communities and ended this year, Northey said. DEED will be partnering with the Food Bank of Alaska to handle the purchasing and logistics of food transportation, Northey said. The agency is currently in the process of selecting a vendor to supply the food for the weekly boxes, he said. He said the state hopes to be able to reach even more Alaska communities eventually, and said he thinks working with the Food Bank of Alaska will result in a smoothly run program. “They are definitely very competent partners,” he said of the food bank, “and I would expect that we will expand in years to come.” For more information, visit foodbankofalaska.org.
Alaska opts out of federal program offering summer grocery money for families with kids
The new federal program would have meant an extra $120 per child in direct funds this summer to families who qualify for free or reduced lunches — or about half of all kids in Alaska. Officials with Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration cited a major food stamps backlog at the Alaska Division of Public Assistance as the reason for opting out of the program, which would have increased the workloads of staff who have been struggling for nearly a year to process benefits in a timely way. Currently, there are around 8,000 Alaskans who’ve been waiting months to receive benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. “Eligibility technicians are working hard to clear up the backlog of SNAP applications and expect to have that completed by this Spring,” Caroline Hamp, a spokeswoman with the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, said in a statement Wednesday. “Once the backlog of SNAP applications has been cleared, the departments will reconsider launching the (program).” In late December, a DEED administrator told the Juneau Empire that it was the cost of the program — not the SNAP backlog — that was the reason the state was opting out of the new program. Hamp did not immediately respond to questions about the cost of the program, and whether that was a factor in the state’s decision. The summer food program is meant to offset the absence of the meals provided to children during the school year, and is set to provide $2.5 billion in grocery assistance to 21 million children nationwide beginning in June, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In Alaska, an estimated 58,000 children would have qualified for nearly $7 million in federal funds this summer, according to an analysis by the Food Research & Action Center, or FRAC, a national nonprofit that focuses on reducing poverty-related hunger. Governors in other Republican-led states also opted out of the program, giving a range of reasons for the decision. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a written statement the few restrictions on how the funds were spent would “do nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic,” and that existing programs would suffice to support the state’s families. Other states cited the administrative costs associated with the program and other hoops they needed to take to get it up and running. Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for Dunleavy, did not comment on the governor’s stance on the program, deferring all questions to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, which would have been responsible for administering the program alongside the Division of Public Assistance. In an emailed statement Thursday, a USDA spokesperson said the agency recognized that “standing up a new program in a very short time period is no easy task.” “Potential challenges may include making systems changes, identifying sufficient staff, and securing financial resources to cover program administration, particularly their responsibility for covering 50% of the administrative costs associated with operating the program,” the USDA said in a statement. Hamp noted that struggling Alaska families are still able to access free food for their kids during the summer months via an existing summer food program that is sponsored by local nonprofits, schools and agencies. Cara Durr, CEO of the Food Bank of Alaska, said her organization was “bummed” the state won’t be participating in the federal program, calling it a “great resource for kids.” “I just hope that we as a state can get to a place with our systems where when something like this is available, we can participate and offer this to families,” Durr said. “Because right now, we’re still seeing really high levels of need.” For more information, visit foodbankofalaska.org.
State launches new online application for food assistance as work to address backlog continues
Alaskans can now apply for food stamp benefits online, after the state Division of Public Assistance announced the launch of an online form Friday. It’s part of the state’s effort to revamp the food assistance system to speed up application processing, as some Alaskans have waited months for their benefits. A backlog of thousands of applications has plagued the division for more than a year. Chronic understaffing, a cyberattack, outdated software, office closures and a spike in demand resulted in the state falling months behind. Now, officials hope the online application will get Alaskans the food assistance they need in a more timely fashion. Ketchikan resident Vanessa Budge is among those caught in the state’s food stamp backlog. As of Friday, she hadn’t received benefits in over three months. “I’ve called and I’ve called, and they keep saying, ‘Oh, we’re working on it. Oh, we’re just getting through some of the applications,’” Budge said by phone. On top of her job as a caretaker with an in-home assistance provider, she’s a mom of two young children and also takes care of her own aging parents. Budge has relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP or food stamps, for years. She says everything seemed to be working smoothly until the pandemic. In 2021, more than 80,000 Alaskans used the program. Food stamp recipients have to reapply periodically. Currently, that’s once a year. Budge reapplied for benefits in August, she said. She was able to get emergency benefits for a month back in September to ensure her kids didn’t go hungry, but since then, she’s been left to wait. “I’m down to nothing but canned goods and soups and stuff that, you know, lasts for a good while. But with the kids growing and stuff, I don’t think it’s gonna last more than a week,” Budge said. And Budge is just one of thousands of people with similar stories playing out across Alaska. Ron Meehan, with the Food Bank of Alaska, said he’s seeing the effect of that backlog firsthand. “We know that when SNAP doesn’t work, people that are in need are showing up at our network of food banks and food pantries across the state, and we’ve continued to see just exceptionally high levels of need across our network,” he said. With office closures and software upgrades, state officials with the Division of Public Assistance said their backlog swelled to 12,000 in December. Division Director Deb Etheridge said after a variety of changes, including the suspension of a requirement that applicants be interviewed, the waiting list is now down significantly. The backlog now stands at 8,311, with 86 of those dating back to last July, said Department of Health spokesperson Shirley Sakaye. “We’ve made significant progress in that backlog in our SNAP applications, but we’re also working really hard to stay current with those cases that are coming in,” Etheridge said. A new online form launched in late December might ease the strain, Etheridge said. It allows food stamp recipients to apply for benefits without the hassle of a 28-page paper application. The system is connected with MyAlaska, the sign-on service Alaska residents use to access things like hunting and fishing licenses and Permanent Fund Dividend applications. The online food assistance application form saves time, Etheridge said. For one, it’s simply easier: the first 260 online applicants to fill it out were able to complete the form in about 20 minutes, compared with roughly an hour for the paper application, Etheridge said. It should also help reduce the time it takes to process an application, Etheridge said. An application with all of the required information typically takes an hour or less to process, but with a 28-page form, it’s easy for applicants to make mistakes that can stall an application for days at a time, she said. The online form flags those potential errors in advance, Etheridge said. “For example, if they say that they have a job, and they do not upload any income verification, and they go to the next screen, they can continue to move through the application, but they’ll get an alert that says ‘Did you mean to do that?’” Etheridge said. Meehan, from the Food Bank of Alaska, said it’s a welcome step. “I think it’s incredibly exciting,” he said. “It provides another platform for individuals seeking food assistance to be able to access that application. Prior to that, we were one of only two states that did not have an online application.” Meehan said his group has its eyes on another big change that they’re hoping for, something called “broad-based categorical eligibility.” That would essentially eliminate a requirement that, in most cases, says food stamp recipients can have no more than $2,750 in assets. “We know that assets, in particular, are incredibly difficult and time-consuming to verify, and by allowing people to save, it can help families get out of poverty and ultimately get off the program,” he said. Etheridge, the Public Assistance director, said the state is working on ways to implement that change, though she said antiquated computer systems make it a complicated proposition. Etheridge said she’s working with the federal agency overseeing SNAP to determine whether the broad-based eligibility standard can be implemented while the state works to modernize its information system. A pair of bills in the state House and Senate introduced near the end of last year’s legislative session would mandate that change and increase income limits to twice the federal poverty level. That’s $75,000 for a family of four. But as officials’ efforts to address the backlog continue, Vanessa Budge, the caretaker in Ketchikan, is still waiting. “I just want to know when I’ll be able to get my food stamps so I go food shopping, because my kids need food,” she said. The state hopes to clear the backlog by mid-March, according to Sakaye. Etheridge’s division is in the process of hiring nearly two dozen entry-level eligibility technicians to process applications, and senior department leaders have been tasked with processing emergency applications, she said. Meanwhile, Etheridge encouraged people
Alaska food banks see more hunger as aid delayed
The Food Bank of Alaska is reporting unprecedented levels of food insecurity this year amid rising food costs statewide and major food stamp backlogs at the state Division of Public Assistance. Officials at those agencies say $4.5 million in state aid earmarked for food banks and pantries in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed state budget among other fixes could help. But the aid won’t come soon enough for the more than 10,000 Alaskans currently waiting months for the state to approve and administer their food stamp benefits, after the state again fell behind on processing applications. Alaska Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said last week that it would likely take the state at least three months to clear its latest backlog, which is affecting approximately one in nine people who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. For some families, it’s the second time in less than a year they’ve had to rely heavily on food banks and pantries as the state fell severely behind on processing the federally funded public assistance benefits. That original backlog was first reported by multiple news outlets last December. Added to rising food costs, the backlogs are a significant factor in driving up demand from the charity sector, straining its ability to help fill the growing need. “We’ve not run out of food yet, but that is on our horizon,” said Hannah Hill, executive director of Bread Line Inc., a soup kitchen in Fairbanks that has already distributed more food this year than any in its 40-year history. The nonprofit has seen a huge increase in need over the last year, and has had to rely on one-time funding from the state to help meet demand, Hill said. “We’re very good at stretching what we have. We’re very good at using lentils in a million creative ways. It just becomes increasingly more difficult,” Hill said. More need, less food “Every month since October 2022 has been the busiest that month has ever been for us,” said Hill. “So it has just been constant record-breaking.” That’s a refrain the Food Bank of Alaska has been hearing all over the state, month after month. said Cara Durr, its CEO. “It’s hard, because I know, it sounds like a broken record: The need keeps rising. But that is truly the experience that we’re having,” Durr said. In Alaska, around one in eight residents were enrolled in the food stamps program before the backlogs. More than two-thirds of SNAP recipients in Alaska have children in their families, and most have incomes below the federal poverty line. In Anchorage, before the first SNAP backlog began last year, Catholic Social Services served 80 households a month as part of its food pantry distributions. During the backlog, that number grew to 120, said the organization’s chief executive officer, Robin Dempsey. “And that number has stayed high the whole year,” she said, adding that she’s heard from clients who had to decide between paying for food or rent. Some of the need appears to be driven by the rising cost of living. Although food prices declined slightly this year compared to the year before, inflation caused food costs in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley to rise by more than 20 percent since 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s in line with national statistics: Food insecurity across the country rose by nearly 3 percent in 2022 from the previous year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In Alaska, at the same time inflation was pushing up the cost of food, tens of thousands of Alaskans who qualify for SNAP were stuck waiting months for the state to process their benefits, causing a 69 percent drop in participation in the program over a single year. Durr said data on food security by state is often delayed, and doesn’t yet show the full scale of the problem that agency and its partners have been observing in Alaska over the last year. Data that the food bank typically relies on from the national nonprofit Feeding America currently shows that about 1 in 10 Alaskans are food insecure, but Durr said it’s likely the number is currently much higher. At the same time that agencies around the state are reporting record demand for food, they also have less food to distribute, Durr said. In fiscal year 2022, the Food Bank of Alaska distributed more than 11 million pounds of food. In FY 2023, that number fell to just 7 million, despite the increased need, said Durr. That drop was likely due to a drop in donations from local grocery chains, and a decrease in a federal commodities program that supplies much of the food bank’s food, Durr said. A ‘tremendous investment’ Durr said she was glad to see the line items in Dunleavy’s budget last week that includes $4.5 million to bolster aid at local food banks and pantries around Alaska: “I think this will be tremendously helpful,” she said. And while Durr said it was too soon to know exactly how that money would be spent, typically $1 million in aid can buy around 600,000 pounds of food, which means $4.5 million could translate to around 2.7 million pounds of food. Given that last year, the Food Bank of Alaska distributed about 7 million pounds of food, the new increase would be significant, she said. Durr said being able to budget for purchasing food rather than relying on donations could also mean better food options. “We get a lot of feedback from our partners on the types of food that their clients like,” she said. “So when we’re able to purchase food, as opposed to rely on a government commodities program or grocery donations, we have total say in the types of food that we’re purchasing.” More than a year of delays By Saturday, nearly 11,000 Alaskans had been waiting as long as six months for the state to process their SNAP benefits applications, according to Shirley Sakaye,
