SNAP freeze looms as Wisconsin families fear losing food benefits
Wisconsin families brace for SNAP funding freeze
Without federal intervention, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – FoodShare in Wisconsin – will run out of funds Saturday, leaving families uncertain about affording food.
MILWAUKEE - Without action from Congress or a federal judge, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – known as FoodShare in Wisconsin – is expected to run out of money on Saturday, leaving thousands of families uncertain about how they’ll afford groceries.
Just about everyone in the food ecosystem is feeling pressure.
Local perspective:
At Bayview Supermarket in Milwaukee, manager Neel Patel says that anxiety is already evident among shoppers.
Patel’s family has run the corner store at Howell and Lincoln since around 2000. He says his customers’ habits – and their moods – have shifted as uncertainty over SNAP grows.
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What they're saying:
"There's been a lot of new people moving into the neighborhood," he said. "This is just one of the convenient spots for people to go to grab their everyday needs."
Patel added: "We've noticed, in terms of activity, a lot of our customers because they've been hearing things about whether or not their funds that are currently on their cards will be available or not moving forward, they're kind of depleting all the funds that they have — just because they'd rather be on the safe side of things and make sure they have some food in their pantry."
Corman Ramsey, a Milwaukee grandmother whose daughters rely on FoodShare, says families are scared of what’s next.
"It's just hard. It's really going to be hard out here for these families," said Ramsey.
Ramsey called on Congress to act quickly.
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"I mean, the government gotta get it together. Whatever's personally going on, they gotta handle it," she said. "And they gotta get it handled now."
Big picture view:
Roughly 700,000 Wisconsinites depend on FoodShare each month. According to the state Department of Health Services, it costs about $114 million monthly to operate the program statewide.
FOX6 reached out to state legislative leaders to ask whether Wisconsin might consider funding the program temporarily – but did not receive a response.
Brown Deer woman makes pizza kits to help families facing food aid cutoff
As the federal government shutdown drags on, families in Wisconsin are bracing for the loss of food benefits – and in Brown Deer, neighbors are stepping in with a unique solution: pizza kits.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.