Stephens County mobilizes emergency food assistance plan amid SNAP suspension

Stephens County put together a plan for its citizens affected by an upcoming SNAP program suspension in order for those individuals and families to continue getting the food that they need.
 
The loss of SNAP benefits is due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, which will affect 550 households and over 1,000 individuals in the county beginning Saturday, Nov. 1. 

The county received notification through the Texas Department of Health Services last week that the benefits would not be extended past that date, leading to an emergency meeting being called. 

The county devised the plan during a special meeting Monday afternoon, Oct. 27, led by Emergency Management Coordinator David Leonard, and also involved other participating agencies like Breckenridge ISD, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, city of Breckenridge, Stephens Memorial Hospital and First Methodist Church of Breckenridge.

After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that this Friday, Oct. 31 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. through 12 p.m., a benefit drive will be held at First Methodist Church for those affected by the program suspension. People are encouraged to donate grocery store gift cards in $50 increments. Eligible families or individuals should be ready with their SNAP identification cards in order to get a $50 gift card per person. 

“A gift card gives flexibility—going out and buying groceries and getting what they want. If we’re handing out the canned goods and stuff, we’d have to set hours and things like that,” Ken Thompson of First Baptist Church said. “It’s not like from six in the morning until nine at night, we’re going to be manning the piles of canned goods. So we can hand them out at any time with the gift cards.”

Currently, the plan is for the cards to be from United Supermarkets, as they can be marked with certain restrictions, such as alcohol and other non-food items. People can also make monetary donations, either cash or a check made payable to Stephens County Mission for Hope, which the church will use to pay for the gift cards. 

Under this initial plan, the county will meet with those previously mentioned entities on a bi-weekly basis to review the plan and make any adjustments if necessary. This is also contingent on how long the SNAP program suspension continues. 

The next meeting is set for Monday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. to discuss that Friday’s assistance plan. 

The 550 households and 1,147 people in Stephens County affected by the loss of SNAP benefits was broken down to:

• 43.8% – 502 children (0-17)
• 40.2% – 461 adults 18-59
• 29.9% – 343 ages 5-17
• 13.9% – 159 under 5
• 10.9% – 125 seniors 65+
• 5.1% – older adults 60-64

The total amount of benefits lost was $615 million a month statewide and $184,424 a month in Stephens County. The average payment per case in the county was $335. 

During the meeting, officials talked about reaching a goal of $40,000. While this plan wouldn’t ensure families were receiving the exact amount they did from SNAP, officials noted it was better than nothing. 

First Methodist Church also helps run three other food and meal assistance programs throughout the year: 

• Cafe Love– 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesdays except the third Tuesday of the month (doors open at 10:30 a.m.)
• Big Mobile Food Pantry – Third Tuesday of each month, must be signed in no later than 10 a.m. in the big parking lot west of the church.

• Small Food Pantry – Every Thursday; must be signed in no later than 9 a.m. 
  
  The church noted that if it was a client’s first time to get assistance, paperwork must be filled out first. The big mobile food pantry is made possible through a truckload of food that the church receives from the West Texas Food Bank. Meanwhile, the church gets food from Walmart and United Supermarkets for the small food pantry every Thursday. 
  
  “We’re giving an average of between 35 to 40 boxes of food for serving families every Thursday morning. That’s just depending on how much United and Walmart have and the stuff on their shelves is perfectly good and all that,” Thompson said. “...then we have a few people in the community, we had a lady come in and donate some venison and that sort of thing from their ranch…so when the boxes are short from United and Walmart, we try and supplement it best we can with stuff like that.”
  
  Thompson also said that for Cafe Love, the church averaged only about 20 people coming to it, and they received canned goods from the post office or junior high food drives. He said they held those items for people who were “flat out” of food or whose house had burned down. 
  
  “We give them a box and let them pick and choose what they want. But I went through an estimate yesterday and we probably have 800 to 900 canned goods sitting down there that we can give to people,” Thompson said. “That just depends on who brings us stuff out of the goodness of their heart…we wait and we distribute it that way. That’s more emergency than these others that are regular.”
  
  Both food pantries listed above are administered through Jane Griffith and the Gunsight Baptist Church. They can be contacted at 254-559-0054 and the First Methodist Church can be contacted at 254-559-8208 for any questions. 
  
  Another way to help get food to affected families is through the Food Bank of West Central Texas, which encourages residents to provide donations, especially during the holiday season. 

  BISD Superintendent Prairie Freeman also talked about having about 70 families participating in previous canned food drives in the past, as well as their weekend backpack buddies program that provides kids in need with backpacks full of food.