Indiana leaders urge emergency funding for SNAP as food pantry supplies dwindle

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- Indiana leaders are calling on Gov. Mike Braun to allocate $112 million to help cover SNAP benefits for Hoosiers as food pantries across the state struggle to fill shelves.

One pantry in New Albany has managed to keep families fed but needs help from the public to continue. Hope Southern Indiana helps feed families from several counties in the Hoosier state. But as the need for food increases, volunteers are seeing less food in the fridge.

That's because people who have never used food pantries before have been showing up.

"Last month, we had about 211 people who had never accessed a food pantry before who came," said Becki Romans, executive director of Hope Southern Indiana.

As the government shutdown continues, food pantries and families who rely on SNAP benefits are being impacted across the country.

Romans said the number of people who have asked Hope Southern Indiana for help has been rising since April. Now, they're preparing for even more people when SNAP benefits are halted Nov. 1.

"We can't even imagine what SNAP benefits going away how much those numbers are going to increase in the future," Romans said.

Right now, there's a lot of empty space on shelves that are normally full. Hope Southern Indiana gets 40% of its food from Dare to Care and the USDA. Although it did receive an influx of that food a week ago, it's already mostly gone.

"We're already out of meat, out of pasta, out of pasta sauce and having to depend on the community to provide us with those things just days after our USDA order came," Roman said.

Across Indiana, 586,403 residents depend on SNAP. At Wednesday's State Budget Committee, state leaders recommended Braun or the State Board of Finance to allocate $112 million to the Family and Social Services Administration to cover SNAP for all recipients. They're also asking to allocate an additional $10 million to Indiana's food banks for each month of the shutdown, if it continues.

Those who requested the allocation added if the government shutdown doesn't last the entirety of November, the rest of the $112 million will be reverted to the General Fund. The motion failed 3-2, which left Indiana Rep. Gregory W. Porter, D-Indianapolis, disappointed and unable to understand why the reserved funds can't be used.

"In this time of crisis, we have what we call reserve funds, or rainy-day funds," Porter said. "To me, it's a rainy day. And with the federal government being shut down as it is today, we don't know what's going to happen."

With the Nov. 1 deadline fast approaching for benefits to expire, Hope Southern Indiana is now relying on the community.

"We're going to do the best we can but we don't know how long we'll be able to sustain the need," Romans said.

Neither Braun's office nor the FSSA responded to a request for comment.

CLICK HERE for a list of food resources in the Louisville area if you need help.

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