Due to uncertainty surrounding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown, Orange County will host emergency food distributions for local residents needing food assistance. Here are details for this weekend’s events.
In partnership with the local non-profit PORCH, the food distributions will take place in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough on Saturday, Nov. 8. The events are first-come, first-serve drive through events, but those who arrive without a vehicle will also be served, according to a county release. The distribution is open to all residents.
Chapel Hill’s event takes place at McDougle Middle School from 12 to 4 p.m. The Hillsborough branch will host its event in the Orange County DSS parking lot at 113 Mayo St. That event starts at 10 a.m. until supplies last. The release also encourages community members to donate to local food pantries, volunteer at community meal programs, and re-share verified updates from county sources.
On Thursday, the Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $54,000 in emergency funding to help continue the county-sponsored food distribution events and provide other food services for low-income families. Transferred from the county’s Social Justice Reserve, the funds will be distributed to the local providers PORCH, Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, and Orange Congregations in Mission.
At the Nov. 6 meeting, County Manager Travis Myren said the emergency funding is a way to provide certainty for food-insecure residents amid the federal government’s shutdown and a “volatile” policy landscape.
“This has been a dynamic couple of days,” Myren said at. “At the end of October, [SNAP] recipients didn’t know if any benefits were coming in November. On the fourth, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told states that we should expect a 50% reduction in benefits. And then just yesterday and today, we learned that the reduction would be 35% instead of 50%.”
Myren explained what that reduction looks like for a family earning an annual income at 200% of the federal poverty level.
“When we think about the program in aggregate, it’s $9 billion a month,” Myren said. “That sounds like a lot of money, but when you look at the individual beneficiary and the households that this program supports, for a family of four, the maximum benefit is about $994 a month, and the reduced benefit will go down to $646 in the month of November.”
Both OCIM and IFS will receive $15,000 to primarily stock food banks and provide additional meals at Community Kitchen in Carrboro. PORCH’s Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Hillsborough branches will each receive $12,000 to help fund the upcoming food distributions.
In an interview with 97.9 The Hill, Orange County Commissioners Chair Jamezetta Bedford expressed how she is currently unsure what a more long-term solution could look like at the county level. Right now, she encouraged the community to take advantage of county resources like senior centers, Meals on Wheels, and free and reduced lunches at school for qualifying students not already signed up.
The Town of Chapel Hill also hosts a regular food distribution every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Eubanks Park-and-Ride Lot and lasts until food runs out. This month’s distributions will take place on Nov. 12 and 26. To volunteer, click here.
Residents in need of immediate food support can contact Orange County DSS at (919) 245-2800 or by email at dssinfo@orangecountync.gov. To see a full list of county-collected resources of where to find food in Orange County, click here.
Featured photo by Dakota Moyer/Chapel Hill Media Group.
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