SNAP pause leaves Waltham residents in need of food aid

Melinda Delarosa is a Waltham resident and mother of three, relying on SNAP to put food on her table. This month she does not know where that food will come from, due to the federal government shutdown jeopardizing the benefits she receives.

Delarosa is one of more than 5,000 Waltham residents receiving food aid from SNAP. This number has steadily climbed from slightly more than 3,000 in 2019 to around 5,500 earlier this year, according to Stella Mach, a data scientist.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture informed SNAP directors in October that the program’s funds would not last through the month of November. State governments are scrambling to fill the funding gap but will not be able to do so long term, according to officials.

“I’ll probably just end up going to food banks, food pantries, in Waltham and the surrounding areas,” Delarosa said. “I normally don’t, because I can usually get by, but obviously without that assistance I won’t be able to get by.”

Nonprofits try to fill the need

Many like Delarosa will be looking locally for food assistance, said leaders of Waltham’s service organizations. 

“We know from experience that many more households will turn to the Salvation Army for support, even as we enter the holiday season, which is traditionally when we see the highest demand for food assistance, rent and utility assistance, and other support services,” said Heather MacFarlane, spokeswoman for the Salvation Army in Waltham.

Despite limited resources, providers such as the Salvation Army, the Community Day Center of Waltham and Healthy Waltham are rallying to support community members in need.

According to Healthy Waltham executive director BJ Osuagwu, these organizations have historically served individuals ineligible for federally supported programs such as SNAP. A lack of federal food assistance, however, places government dependents (as well as regular clientele) on the doorstep of local providers.

“It’s an extremely unprecedented time that we find ourselves in,” said Osuagwu. 

Osuagwu, a member of the governor’s Hunger Task Force, has always seen SNAP and other essential service programs to be untouchable social safety nets — saying he believes access to food is a right. Finding now that this is not the case, he is ramping up Healthy Waltham’s food pantry services accordingly, recently launching a fundraising campaign to help meet the expected extra demand due to issues around SNAP funding. 

Healthy Waltham gives away up to 90,000 pounds of food a month. The most recent pantry, held before the SNAP pause, saw an increase of almost 70 families.

Despite doing its best to meet immediate needs, Osuagwu said, Healthy Waltham does not have the resources long term to fill the gap formerly filled by federal funding.

A fraying safety net

Community Day Center case worker Devon Franklin echoed Osuagwu, saying that local programs cannot guarantee aid or cater to individual needs in the same way SNAP benefits can.

The center’s main form of food aid is lunch Monday through Friday and dinner during winter months for guests staying at the center’s facilities. Like Healthy Waltham, the day center is designed to act as a bridge, connecting guests with long-term benefits like SNAP. 

“You could wait all day to go to a pantry, and then it might be empty by the time you get to your spot,” Franklin said. “But with SNAP benefits, there is a guarantee that whether you’re disabled or the working poor, you can secure some food.”

With a mom and brother on SNAP support, Franklin is acutely aware of the ways a SNAP pause could impact the community. 

Franklin said her salary will cover the loss in SNAP benefits for her family, but she noted many SNAP beneficiaries do not have the luxury of family or friends to provide financial support.

The center’s response to the SNAP pullback is still being worked out but is expected to include bottled waters and nonperishable, shelf-stable food items.

“We haven’t finalized the plan for how to offer it, where to put it,” Franklin said. “We are only open from 12:30 to 4, but the need is ongoing, obviously, before and after those hours.”

Residents are rallying to help

With limited programming and resources — and expectations that the need for services will balloon — local providers are looking to Waltham’s community to partner with them in meeting the need.

Everyone in the community will be affected by increased food insecurity, Osuagwu said, referencing recent studies linking crime rates and conflict to hunger.

In light of the domino effect a SNAP pause could set into motion, community members should not hesitate in responding to neighbors’ needs, he said.

“Too often hindsight is 20/20, and people look back and say, ‘You know, I should have done this when this moment arose,’” said Osuagwu. “But we’re in that moment right now, and we want to avoid having to look back and say, ‘I should have done this, or I should have done that.’ We just want to act.”

Delarosa is asking community members to start by considering their opinions of neighbors relying on food assistance. She said people need to understand that those receiving food assistance are not lazy or trying to just live off the system.

Franklin has already seen residents rallying in support of their neighbors, offering to buy ingredients for children’s birthday cakes and supporting local food pantries.

“Waltham really has this community-focused spirit to it,” said Franklin. “I feel like I could turn to my fellow Walthamites and they would help me out the way I love helping them out.”

More information about each organization, including how to make a donation or volunteer, can be found at Healthy Waltham, the Salvation Army and the Community Day Center. Community members interested in connecting with the day center can also contact Franklin at dev@communitydaycenter.org.

A list of other organizations in the Waltham area providing support to those impacted by the pause can be found here, on the Watch CDC website and at Charles River Chamber Giveback.