Baltimore food support programs feel pinch after federal assistance benefits end

When additional federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits ended March 1 for eligible individuals and families enduring financial hardship in the greater Baltimore area, Kenisha Jenkins-Lee and others associated with Our Daily Bread Employment Center braced for the inevitable reaction.

And over the past two months, Jenkins-Lee, a program manager with Catholic Charities, has seen growing evidence that the number of people running low on food is on the rise.

Jenkins-Lee said the ending of SNAP additional benefits, a coronavirus pandemic-era program that provided extra payments to Americans who qualify for food stamps, is the main culprit.

“We definitely have seen an uptick in the number of families coming in every day (looking for help). We have learned that a lot of them have lost a significant amount of money in SNAP benefits they have relied on for at least two years,” she said.

According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities earlier this year, the average eligible household lost $95 a month for groceries. The program was designed to help low-income families who had lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.

“We’ve had families of four or five show documentation that they had received $400 a month in total funds, (deposited directly) on their SNAP benefit cards. And it had dropped to as low as $100 or less,” Jenkins-Lee said. “That is not enough to feed the kids.”

Jenkins-Lee oversees counselors who work with the public by providing assistance with government benefits, legal services, health care and employment opportunities. Our Daily Bread, a Catholic Charities-run outreach which also serves free, hot lunches daily for the poor and those experiencing homelessness, also refers clients in need of food to St. Vincent de Paul Baltimore, Franciscan Center, parish food banks and local pantries.

With inflation persisting over the past two years and the increasing need to assist the hungry in light of the discontinuation of the extra benefits, it is becoming tougher to keep shelves stocked with food, according to Victoria Ezeji, a senior volunteer coordinator at Beans and Bread.

As one of St. Vincent de Paul’s two primary hunger services programs – Good Harvest, which delivers food to at-risk communities such as schools, shelters and senior centers, is the other – Beans and Bread provides congregate meals and support services on a walk-in basis for East Baltimore community members who need food.

“We noticed quite an increase in clients coming in during April, especially families with children needing to eat. That is a real concern, since summer isn’t here yet,” said Ezeji, alluding to school lunches that are not available to needy students in the summertime. “Since the stoppage of (extra) SNAP benefits, our organization is among the many charitable places that are feeling the weight.”

A report from St. Vincent de Paul showed a large upward trend in served meals by comparing the number of total meals it served in April 2022 with April 2023.

Last year, with additional SNAP funds available, Beans and Bread served 3,252 meals in April and was open six more days than in April 2023, when the program served 4,726 meals, after the extra benefits ended.

The daily average of 236 meals served in April 2023 marked an 89 percent increase from the daily average of 125 meals served in April 2022.

Jeff Griffin, executive director of the Franciscan Center – which feeds roughly 400-600 Baltimore City residents a daily hot lunch, maintains a pantry program and delivers meals to homeless encampments – said additional SNAP benefits brought down the number of meals served notably.

“After those funds were released, we saw our daily numbers drop to 250-300 meals. Now, we’re back (to) well over 400 meals served every day,” Griffin said. “We’re also seeing more kids than normal. Not only are we buying more food, but the food costs are considerably higher, too.”

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