What Happens When You Can’t Wait For Help?

A recent article in the Washington Post has brought to light what many of us who are familiar with social services already know: millions of people across the U.S. are having to wait weeks or even months for food assistance.

The recession has contributed to huge caseload increases for the Food Stamp Program:  A record 40 million people currently receive Food Stamps nation-wide.  Administrative delays, bureaucratic red tape, and the overwhelming demand for food assistance have been offered as excuses for the backlog.   But the reality is that hunger can’t wait.  As one Food Stamp applicant stated, “I understand they say government is slow, but people are starving”.

When people can’t access government benefits like Food Stamps, where do they turn?  Anyone familiar with St. Anthony Foundation’s services knows the answer to that question: people turn to community-based emergency food programs like our dining room and our food pantry.   Is it any wonder that our Dining Room has been serving an unprecedented amount of food at the same time that our federally-funded Food Stamp program has seen unprecedented growth?

St. Anthony Foundation doesn’t just provide food for people in need.  We also work with our law makers to try to improve government programs that assist the poor.  Over the past five years that I’ve worked at St. Anthony’s, we’ve advocated to simplify, streamline, and de-stigmatize California’s Food Stamp program.  We’ve also worked hard to help our legislators and community members to understand that Food Stamps are an important part of our local economic recovery.  Food Stamps don’t just assist the poor; they also provide a stimulus for local food sellers as well as a boost to local government coffers.

A hungry community can’t be a strong and healthy community. That’s why we at St. Anthony Foundation provide immediate food assistance through direct services like our Dining Room. That’s also why we advocate for a stronger safety net and for a just society where all people have the chance to flourish.