Abilene nonprofits prepare for surge if SNAP benefits are disrupted

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Where would you go if a source you relied on to feed your family was gone? That’s the reality that millions across the nation are facing right now, including those here in the Big Country. On November 1st, those who use a key government assistance food program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, may not receive their regularly allotted federal funds due to the ongoing government shutdown.

In anticipation of the lack of aid, many throughout the area are reaching out to local organizations for help. One of those is Love & Care Ministries, and Executive Director Mark Hewitt spoke to the preparation for filling this need locally.

“We’ve had different calls from different organizations talking about what we can do in the city? How can Love & Care be more of a part? We just had to be prepared and be ready to do what’s going to happen if this happens. We have no control over it. We just have to say, okay, what can we do to help our city,” Hewitt explained.

Calls have also come to Meals on Wheels in Abilene with people trying to sign up for the program as a partial substitute for what they may be losing. Executive Director of the Abilene Meals on Wheels, Betty Bradley, outlined how, due to the qualifications their clients need to meet, they cannot provide help for everybody who needs it.

“We know that more and more of them are going to be calling Meals on Wheels to see if we could help. Most of the people we serve, probably about 95%, are low-income individuals. We serve people who are 65 and older or younger adults between 18 and 65 who have one or more disabilities,” Bradley shared.

Abilene Salvation Army and Commander Major Joe Burton shared that they are doing what they can to supplement this aid and provide an extensive list of other organizations that can potentially help during this time of hardship.

“They can come to the Salvation Army. Our doors are always open to whoever needs it. We work closely with 211. We have a list of agencies or guides that people can go to if the Salvation Army can’t help in that respect, we can refer them to someone through 211,” Burton said.

A major source of the aid these organizations rely on comes from donations. With the potential for even more people across the Big Country needing their help, every organization featured in this story is asking the public to help with food or monetary contributions.