In Greenbelt, a community food distribution by the Greenbelt Assistance in Living Program (GAIL), in conjunction with the nonprofit Shabach! Ministries on October 16, had a turnout that encompassed three car lines and traffic that stretched along Crescent Road with hundreds of people. This was representative of the community’s current need, said Greenbelt resident Robert Goldberg-Strassler, who launched a nonprofit to fight hunger.
“I’ve never seen a line that long ever, in fact, it’s typically one line,” Goldberg-Strassler said.
The current government shutdown, during which many federal workers are unpaid, has now surpassed 40 days, making it the longest in history.
SNAP benefits officially expired on November 1 because of the shutdown, which halted funding for the program that helps feed over 42 million Americans. The program helps low-income households buy the food they need, according to the Maryland Department of Human Services.
The increased need comes at a time when GAIL, which provides a monthly food distribution in Greenbelt, is bracing for less food from the Capital Area Food Bank. “The Mobile Market Program, as we have known it, will discontinue in December,” said Christal Batey, the assistant director of GAIL. Starting in January, GAIL will no longer operate as one of the food bank’s mobile market sites, which distribute fresh produce to neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., region, Batey said. “The city will still have access to produce at no cost, but our poundage will be limited to approximately 2,000 pounds per month and be based on availability of produce on the Capital Area Food Bank menu. Historically, The Mobile Market Program provided approximately 6,000 pounds per month,” said Batey.
GAIL’s monthly free produce distribution serves approximately 500 to 600 residents per month. Recently the shutdown, federal funding restrictions and the overall increase in need have impacted the Capital Area Food Bank, which supports the distribution, Batey said.
“We will see a reduction in fresh produce that will be available to us as a standard delivery,” she said. “We will still have produce, but it will not be in the same quantities that we’re used to as a mobile market site.”
Greenbelt families who rely on GAIL will also receive smaller quantities of food. Batey said that families that used to receive multiple bags of produce will now receive just one.
“Historically, families would receive a third of a bag of onions, or half a bag of potatoes, or whatever the item might be,” Batey said. “I would see that [amount now] being reduced, obviously, by more than half.”
Support
Greenbelt Grows is a community initiative that encourages people to grow and share food. It’s a reminder that the community is able to take care of itself in creative ways, according to one of its initiators, Jennifer Dudley.
“Our farmers need us, you know, our neighbors that are recipients of food security benefits on SNAP, they need us,” Dudley said, commenting on how the lack of funding for food-related programs is influencing community members. “A lot of our seniors are hungry, and are quietly not saying anything and going without.”
Goldberg-Strassler is the visionary of Greenbelt’s PORCH program, and he has seen an increase in need as a result of the shutdown. PORCH is a nonprofit that unites neighbors in communities to fight hunger, according to the organization’s website.
“An individual family, who may have been donating before … now they’re on the other side. They’re needing to receive food from the food pantry as opposed to donating food to the food pantry,” Goldberg-Strassler said. “It’s come full circle.”
The best thing the Greenbelt community can do right now, according to Dudley, is think about what they can accomplish together.
“All of us are one unfortunate situation away from being in the situation where we need help,” said Dudley, “so I think we need to be looking at what resources we have in Greenbelt and around us in general, and [try to] connect them.”
County Councilmember Ingrid S. Watson will host a food giveaway in the Community Center on Thursday, November 20.
Ashna Balroop is a University of Maryland student at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism writing for the Greenbelt News Review.
