A partnership of public officials, private business and nonprofits in Cuyahoga County announced Friday it's donating $625,000 to local food pantries to help make up for lost SNAP benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it doesn’t have enough funds for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beginning Nov. 1. There are more than four million SNAP recipients in Ohio – about 190,000 of them in Cuyahoga County.
“We're talking about parents who skip meals so their children can eat. Seniors forced to choose between food and medicine,” Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne said during a press conference at the May Dugan Center, a nonprofit that provides comprehensive support services for residents across Greater Cleveland.
Rep. Shontel Brown said there's not a clear resolution to the shutdown in place. She called on President Donald Trump to use emergency funds to help cover lost SNAP benefits.
“It could cover partial benefits, and I've spoken with lawyers and advisors and counsel who believe there are ways to move money around at the USDA to get full benefits,” Brown said.
Cuyahoga County and the city of Cleveland each donated $50,000.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said of the 190,000 SNAP recipients in Cuyahoga County, 170,000 of them live in Cleveland.
“There is no local or state replacement for these massive federal funds. The city, the county and the state cannot replace these SNAP benefits,” Bibb said. “I'm hearing from some folks that this may go beyond Thanksgiving. It could go all the way to January of next year."
The $625,000 is going to the Hunger Network, an emergency food relief program serving more than 70 food pantries and free meal programs in greater Cleveland. Ronayne said county residents can call 211, a free community assistance hotline through the United Way, to receive guidance on how to utilize the network.
Other local municipalities joined the donation effort including Warrensville Heights, Garfield Heights and Highland Hills.
Private businesses, including Cleveland’s three major professional sports teams, donated as well.
Ronayne said it takes more than $35 million federal dollars every month to fulfill the county’s SNAP benefits. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Thursday putting $25 million toward food assistance programs to help families losing out on SNAP benefits.
“We thank the governor of the state of Ohio. $25 million goes out to food banks and assistance throughout the state of Ohio, but again, think about it. This one county has 35 million dollars in SNAP monies alone going out every month, so $25 million plus this extra $600,000, it still doesn't add up,” Ronayne said. “So, we're asking residents to give to food banks and this is the season of thanks.”
Kevin Gowan, director of Cuyahoga Job and Family Services, said SNAP recipients need to continue to fill out SNAP paperwork despite not getting November benefits.
“It sounds a little harsh, but SNAP has all these check-ins and they need to check in,” Gowan said. “The last thing we want to see is people just not checking in, not sending in their paperwork and then all of a sudden they don't get December because they didn't.”
The county said residents can still apply and benefit from other assistance programs such as Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families despite the shutdown.
