Video Transcipt: Food banks struggle amid SNAP crisis
Desiree Robinson: Food banks in Central New York are feeling the impacts of the SNAP crisis first hand. As families struggle to keep up, so do the organizations helping them. Coordinator of Plymouth Church Food Pantry said she felt the impacts immediately.
Heather Evans: The beginning of the first week I was swamped. We didn’t sit still.
Desiree Robinson: And the families are in limbo.
Evans: It’s hard on them because they don’t know if they’re going to have the resources. I don’t know that I’m gonna have the resources.
Desiree Robinson: Heather Evans says before the shutdown they served about 25 families weekly. Now that number has doubled and continues to rise.
Evans: The day before thanksgiving we will be open two to four, and I’m expecting about 100.
Desiree Robinson: When food assistance disappears, it’s not just about being hungry. Syracuse has one of the highest childhood poverty rates in New York State, and experts say a pause in SNAP makes things even harder. Those who study food and nutrition say the impact goes beyond the dinner table.
Maryam Yuhas: Our local economy is going to suffer. It’s just going to be this cycle that feeds into poor economy. Less wages coming in to less food being on the table for this kids, who are some of the poorest kids in the nation.
Desiree Robinson: Yuhas and Evans both agree, that the best way to help during this time of uncertainty is to give.
Yuhas: Food banks are going to be completely overwhelmed and overloaded. So anything that the general community can do to donate and send money and food in that direction would be very helpful.
Evans: Whatever you can do we’ll take, call the church and they’ll tell you how to donate.
Desiree Robinson: As Thanksgiving approaches, food banks across Central New York say every donation counts. For many families, that help can make all the difference. Desiree Robinson NCC News
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News ) – Thanksgiving is around the corner, but for many Central New York families, the holiday season is bringing stress instead of celebration.
Food pantries across the region are feeling the strain of a federal pause on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the continued rise in grocery prices. At the Plymouth Church Food Pantry in Syracuse, director Heather Evans said the impact was immediate.
“The beginning of the first week I was swamped. We didn’t sit still,” Evans said.
Before the shutdown, the pantry served about 25 families per week. Now demand has doubled and supply has tightened too. Evans said the pantry previously received two deliveries a month, but due to rising need across the region, they’re now receiving only one, leaving shelves harder to keep stocked.
As Thanksgiving approaches, Evans expects even more families to seek help.
“I’m expecting about a hundred,” she said.
Many of the families walking into the pantry are facing tough choices. Some parents are deciding between buying balanced meals or purchasing warm winter clothes for their children.
“It’s hard on them because they don’t know if they’re going to have the resources. I don’t know that I’m gonna have the resources,” Evans said.
The issue goes deeper than holiday meal planning. Syracuse has one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation. Nearly 46% of children in the city live in poverty, the highest rate among large U.S. cities from 2019 to 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Maryam Yuhas, professor of nutrition and food studies at Syracuse University, said the pause in SNAP benefits affects far more than family budgets.
“Our local economy is going to suffer,” Yuhas said. “It’s this cycle that feeds into a poor economy. Less wages coming in to less food being on the table for these kids, who are some of the poorest kids in the nation.”
Statewide, more than 1.7 million households rely on SNAP, according to the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. The funding freeze has made it harder for families to meet basic daily needs.
Both Yuhas and Evans say community support will be essential in the coming weeks. Food banks and pantries are preparing for one of their busiest holiday seasons in years.
“Food banks are going to be completely overwhelmed and overloaded. So anything that the general community can do to donate and send money and food in that direction would be very helpful,” Yuhas said.
Evans added that even small, simple actions can help local families make it through the season.
She encourages anyone who can to go through their things and pass along what they don’t need.
For many families navigating the SNAP pause and rising food costs, those donations may be the reason a full Thanksgiving plate is still possible this year.