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Pop-up food pantries are coming to help SNAP recipients losing federal benefits

Lula Howard hands a mango to Ben Jackson, 78, during Foodlink's Curbside Market visit to Kennedy Towers in April 2021.
Max Schulte
/
WXXI News
Lula Howard hands a mango to Ben Jackson, 78, during Foodlink's Curbside Market visit to Kennedy Towers in April 2021.

Three years after Congress funded supplemental SNAP benefits to help families put food on the table early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is ending.

"People were still getting their normal benefit the first half of the month," said Mark Dwyer, director of marketing and communications at Foodlink. "It's the second half of March when that extra benefit disappeared and so these upcoming weeks are when a lot of families locally will start feeling the loss of these benefits."

According to Foodlink, the hub of the Rochester region's emergency food network, the impact will be felt by more than 62,000 households in Monroe County alone, including over 100,000 people.

To help them cope with the transition, Foodlink and its regional partners are offering five pop-up food distribution events in Rochester starting on March 17.

Emergency Food Box Distributions:

DateTimeLocation
Friday, March 172-4 p.m.Foodlink:
2011 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester NY 14615
Wednesday, March 224-6 p.m.Rochester Public Market:
280 N. Union St, Rochester NY 14609
Thursday, March 233-5 p.m.Franklin High School:
950 Norton St., Rochester NY 14621
Saturday, March 2510 a.m. - 12 p.m.Monroe County DHS:
691 St. Paul St., Rochester NY 14605
Sunday, March 3110 a.m. - 12 p.m.Rochester Schools, Jefferson Campus:
1 Edgerton Park, Rochester NY 14608

SNAP recipients must register for the drive-through distribution events, which will operate on a first come, first served basis. Those wishing to register may do so by visiting www.FoodlinkNY.org/FindFood or by calling (585) 471-7340.

Similar to the emergency meals handed out in the early months of the pandemic, the food boxes will include lean protein, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

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While Dwyer emphasized that no food hub or meal program can offset the loss of additional benefits SNAP recipients have been accustomed to for the past three years, the pop-up events are intended to help people bridge the gap for the first couple of weeks.

On average, SNAP recipients are losing between $95 and $200 in monthly benefits.

"But if you get into situations with families with multiple children, they're going to see several hundred dollars missing from SNAP on a monthly basis going forward," Dwyer said.

When coupled with higher food prices driven by inflation, food budgets will need to be stretched even further. According to data from the second half of 2022, there was about a 30% rise in visits to food pantries served by Foodlink in a 10-county Greater Rochester region.

"It actually mirrors, if not surpasses, the initial bump we saw with COVID in 2020," Dwyer said.

Monroe County created a website, snap585.org, which offers tips for SNAP recipients to adjust to their reduced benefits.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.