- Coming up on IGI, a discussion on the uncertainty of SNAP benefits and how a couple of local organizations are stepping up to help our local communities during a time of need.

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- Welcome to IGI, I am your host, Bob Beatty.

Snap benefits continue to be a high profile topic of discussion with news, consistently changing course, leaving Kansas families and communities and confusion and need.

On today's show, we discuss the impact of SNAP benefit reduction on food banks and local support organizations.

Joining us to discuss how community resources maintain hope in the face of great challenge are Elizabeth Keever, chief Resource Officer for Harvesters, the Community Food Network, and Lisa Cain, Executive Director and Jason Parker, Associate Director for Doorstep Incorporated.

Thank you so much for joining me here, and I think this is a, a very important show we're doing.

If I do say so myself, I'm going to learn a lot and I think our viewers will also learn a lot and for good or ill, it's a time where we need to talk about this.

Some things happen in Washington DC that affect us here at the local level.

But what I wanted to start with is tell us about your organizations, your mission, what you do, because we're gonna have viewers that might have said, oh, I've heard of that organization, but I'm not exactly sure.

So let's start with Elizabeth.

- Yeah.

So Harvesters, the Community Food Network is a food bank that serves 27 counties in northeastern Kansas and Northwest Missouri.

And we work with partner organizations.

We have over 600 organizations that we work with, and we help them maintain the inventory they need to run whatever program that they do.

So whether it's a pantry or a mobile distribution, some of them might be a hot meal site.

We work with a variety of different organizations and, and do whatever we can to give them the inventory they need to be able to serve families who are facing hunger today.

- And did you say 26 counties or - 27 counties?

- 27 counties, yes.

And how many roughly food pantries or you know, how many - Yeah.

- Are do you in those 27 counties?

- So in those 27 counties, we have over 600 organizations that run over 1200 programs.

- Oh my gosh.

Okay.

- To provide assistance to over 3,750 people who are experiencing hunger today.

- Wow.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

And Lisa and Jason?

Yes.

Your organization.

- So Doorstep began almost 60 years ago.

They were putting it all together and then the tornado hit in 19 Oh wow.

1966.

And that kind of threw everything into action.

We were started by six churches and we have grown to 55 interfaith faith communities.

And we offer not just food, we have clothing and household items, but we also help people with rent, utilities, prescriptions, dental vouchers, gas vouchers, and bus tickets to get to and from work and doctor's appointments and some auto services.

- And I think people, us, at least I am, would be interested or curious about, I don't want your personal stories necessarily, but how did you end up where you are now?

What's your background?

And, and also if you don't mind telling us how, what got you interested in, in working for the organization you're in now?

- Yeah, so I have been, I originally started out my career working in the political space and I was really inspired by so many of the organizations that were doing direct service.

So when I left political work, I wanted to work closer to the folks who were in need.

So I started working at one of harvester's partner organizations and I had the pleasure of being with that organization for about nine years, just food in Lawrence, Kansas.

And when I had the opportunity to work with harvesters and serve a broader region, I could not be more pleased to join the team and continue doing that work on a larger scale.

So - W when you started doing that, what was the difference between the work you've done previously and some of the people you're now you are, you are now working with?

I mean I've, I've worked for nonprofits as well and it's just an interesting difference, isn't it?

- Yeah, it's such an interesting difference because it's just, it really brought to light how valuable every level of the charitable food system there is.

- Mm.

- Harvesters doesn't do anything directly to folks who are in need of food assistance.

We do everything in partnership and we can't do the work that we do without our incredible partners.

So being able to see how we leverage our expertise as a food bank and able to do large mass volumes of food and able to then see the, you know, full spectrum of how it gets into someone's refrigerator is really beautiful to kind of see from start to finish how important and how much more complex than a lot of people realize the food banking and charitable food system really is.

- Yes.

And Lisa, what, what's your background?

How did you end - Up where you were?

Oh, I'm a, from graduate.

- Okay.

- I got my degree in social work and started like eight months I think, after I graduated at Doorstep.

- Oh wow.

- So I'm in my 32nd year.

I've done all the jobs.

I'm as high up as I can go.

And it's, it's a, it sounds like a lot of years it's gone fast, but things are always changing.

- Has it grown quite a bit since you joined - It or it, it has grown quite a bit and just from the beginning services and programs that they did, which were really cool, there are so many organizations and programs and services in this community that we can focus on basic needs and we can refer clients to other organizations to handle what they need.

- Well, maybe you can tell us later when we're discussing some of these things, but I'll, I'd be interested to hear the, the differences from, of the challenges you, you face now versus maybe some of the ones you did when you joined.

But I'll ask Jason, what's your background?

How did you get, - Yeah, so about six years ago, I actually came to Kansas, got a job as a school counselor at 437.

And you know, I kind of always enjoyed helping people.

Honestly.

I went into education as a school counselor because I wanted summers off and that, and unfortunately is not, not a good reason to go into education.

You know, I felt like I did a lot of good work with those kids.

And I like to think now that with where I'm at at Doorstep, you know, I can help them and even their parents and you know, I've seen some names that I recognize come across, you know, the need is out there that these families need help.

And just being able to be in an organization where you can kind of make a difference, make an impact, is something that's really fun.

And I enjoy the people I work with and most of what I do well, - Yeah, all jobs are challenging, right?

Yes.

And we'll, we'll, we'll discuss this later, get into specifics to how to possibly help people.

But I think there's some, I think there's some confusion about nonprofits then some people said, make sure you, you ask about this, just, just for example, with donations, we'll see donation bins in parking lots, but some of those may be for profit.

And so, you know, we also, there's some thrift shops that are for profit.

So is, is that a, is that a new thing I might ask you is that it seems like it'd be a challenge because you are established organizations, you have a mission, people know you, but there's also sometimes difficult for your average person to know who to donate to.

Is that something - Yeah, - That they, is difficult to clarify for some people.

- I think people get confused all the time.

Yeah.

Especially as you see more things emerge, like random new charity bins for clothing, things like that.

And the really, the best recommendation I have for people, if they really wanna see what organizations they wanna support is check out either Charity Guide or Charity Navigator or GuideStar and take a look at the rating of that organization, take a look at how they utilize their funds and whether or not they're rated well.

Because then that shows you how efficient they are with the resources and are if they're good stewards with the donations that they receive.

- Okay.

- So those are great tools - And I'd say don't even be afraid to reach out to any agency as well, especially the local ones.

You know, we were, you know, in the office every day almost.

And you know, people call with questions, people come in with questions, we're more than happy to answer.

We have an amazing team of volunteers every day that help us do what we do.

And you know, they know just as many answers as we do sometimes, if not more.

I'm sometimes seeking a lot from them.

And they've been with us for quite a long time in many cases.

And so even visiting the agencies you, like I said, our doors are open and not just for services, but for questions for donations and all those things that, you know, both, kinda both sides of the coin.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

We'll get to, we'll get to the current, some of the current problems.

Some problems are current, but always, always there is, well, or, or at least challenges.

One thing is, do either of your organizations receive state or Fender federal funding and is, or is it all donations?

And in terms of food banks, where do you, where do you get most of your food?

Is it individual donations or is it grocery stores or is it combination?

- Yeah, so the vast majority of the donations that we receive when it comes to food are for or from some more large national corporate partners.

So that's everything from big wholesalers, big retailers, big distributors.

But when it comes to where we get our funding, there is about 13% that come from the federal government.

Okay.

And some of that comes from actual product that we get from the USDA as well as dollars that we get to operate certain programs.

And it's a mixture of federal dollars that come through as a pass through by the state.

So you'll see programs like CSFP, it's a senior nutrition program that is product that we get from the USDA and then dollars that we get from the federal government to support the actual distribution of that.

So that's kind of a good example, but it makes about, sure.

Roughly 13% of what we do as an organization.

- Okay.

What about doorstep?

- We have one small grant.

Oh, that's, that's federal.

A lot of our support comes from our 55 faith communities that support us.

They donate food, money, volunteers participate in our special events.

So they are, they're our backbone.

- Let's talk about the, the impact though that the federal government and some states too, the state government can have.

So even if you're not, in your case, not overly dependent on the Fed, you know, the federal government, their actions can impact the people that you serve.

So we had a, the longest shut down in American history.

I may not look very old, I'm joking, but I've been around a while and this did not used to be how, how things happened.

Shutdowns were years when I was fair amount younger, a big deal.

Yeah.

It was like, oh my gosh, we this.

And also there was a sense of almost embarrassment and you know, that the government is not doing what it said.

This was a 43 day shut down almost, almost two months.

What, talk to our viewers about the impact that, something like that, and again, we're not throwing blame on any party or anything, but just the simple fact of a government shutdown.

What can it, what's the impact on the people you serve?

We'll start with Elizabeth.

- So the government shutdown really left organizations like harvesters and our partner agencies and uncharted waters.

It was the first time in six decades since the creation of the SNAP program that funds were not administered in a timely manner.

And that left thousands and thousands, 42 million Americans with concern about when they're gonna receive their SNAP benefits.

And SNAP is one of our country's most efficient tools at Fighting Hunger for every one meal a food bank.

And our partner agencies provide, SNAP provides nine.

We simply cannot make up the difference left behind Snap in the service area that we serve at harvesters, there are over 200,000 people who are expected to receive SNAP benefits at the start of November.

And it left a gap of $34 million just for November alone.

So that is just those who are receiving snap.

There's also 40,000 federal civilian workers and harvesters service area and there was a lot of confusion at the beginning of the shutdown, what it's gonna mean for military families in our service area.

We have three military bases and fortunately those folks were able to still receive their paycheck.

But that left so much uncertainty around so many vital programs like WIC snap, and then funding for, you know, not only, you know, vital programs like CSFP and TFAP, but it just left a gap of so much uncertainty and there's only so long people can go without receiving a paycheck.

- How about for doorstep with the - Shutdown?

I think, you know, definitely there was a lot of questions rising up to the point of the shutdown.

People were coming in even in October, very worried about losing those benefits they were gonna get and trying to, trying to prep more or less by getting a food order from us.

Since that time, from November 1st forward, I'd say somewhere around probably a 30 to 40% increase in food orders that we've done.

Wow.

Up until probably this, sometime this week.

Generally at the beginning of the month we're a little bit slower with food orders 'cause people get their, their SNAP benefits and all that stuff.

But with everything that happened, we kinda got hammered.

We were quite busy.

I do every day.

I take the intakes from the day before and I fill those in, put those into our system and I mean we're talking stacks a couple inches thick in some cases and me having to expand my spreadsheet out to fit everyone for that day, which rarely happens.

But when it does happen, you know, it's been a busy day or a long month and it's happened a few times already this month.

So the need I again, definitely was there.

People, you know, kind of can't survive without food in a lot of cases.

It's hard to determine what am I going to let go of so I can buy food.

You know, maybe they didn't, weren't able to pay their rent or some of one of their utility bills had to be put off because food is, you know, one of those, those needs that's just necessary.

Maslow's hierarchy has that listed right on the base and it's something that when you take away from people unfortunately, you know, they kind of, they gotta make a choice and that's, those aren't positions we like to see our clients in.

And so that's what we enjoy doing at Doorstep is not only doing food but all of our other services as - Well.

Lisa, you might have made the mistake of saying how long you've worked there, but you ha also then haven't seen a shutdown like this.

This is different than maybe some of the other times before when, when - Tough times have hit, right?

Yeah.

I mean, you know, lots of people, they're gonna, they're not getting paychecks.

They have rent, they have mortgage, they have utilities, car payments, insurance, you know, these are people that regularly - Work.

That's a great point because during a shutdown the government may say keep working and you'll get paid when it's over.

But all those bills you just mentioned, they don't stop and say, oh we'll send those bills when it's over.

They keep coming.

Right.

- I have seen on some websites they ask if you're part of the government shutdown, you know, probably putting off a payment for you.

But you know, it's gonna come back around.

- So yeah, I think you were gonna, well - You know, to the point of the timing wise, and I think this is another level of why this was so challenging for so many families is our agencies expect to be busy towards the end of the month when folks run out of those SNAP benefits.

Also it's November Thanksgiving is at the end of this month.

So not only did folks have unexpected a lack of payments towards the beginning of November, they're headed into the Thanksgiving season where our agencies are seeing a huge increase in demand already with the holidays.

So it was, it's almost a double whammy for harvesters in our partners because we had a, a surge in demand at the beginning of this month.

And we know without fail because of Thanksgiving, we'll also have another surge at the end of this month and we dunno what to expect next month either.

- So there is, what do, let me ask this question.

What do some people may not get regarding the people who need assistance?

'cause there is sometimes you hear a narrative oh of it's a type of person that needs food or that needs, and I, many years ago I, I worked at a, at a food bank and I was quickly, you know, shown the types of people that that need assistance.

So I guess that's a question.

What are some people who might have a stereotypical view of who's getting assistance?

What would you say to them of the types of people that that need assistance?

Jason, - Really it it, you know, it could be anyone who needs assistance and you never, you never know you need it till you need it.

In some cases.

It's very often we'll work with families who, everything was going great for so long and then an emer emergency hit and stuff happened and like, I just need food.

You know, I just need to be able to get through, you know, starting a new job shortly.

But we were, my husband was laid off for two months and hasn't been able to find a job.

It's a tough job market out there just to add into all the stress going around.

I talk to people all the time, like I've been looking for a job for a long time and not getting callbacks and so there's, you know, kind of many things I think that could be looked at as well.

But I guess just going back to, you know, you never know when you're gonna need it, but that's why we're here.

And especially, you know, agencies like harvesters and doorstep for things like our food.

You know, income's not something we look at.

You can walk in making $10,000 a month and you say, I need assistance.

Something humbled you to get you in the door so you know, we'll we'll try to help you out with what we can.

And that's kinda what we aim to do.

- I think people think that people that get the SNAP benefits, they don't work.

They sit around not doing anything and that's not the case.

Many of them work, they're disabled, A lot of children are getting fed from those SNAP benefits.

It's not, you know, they need those to continue to pay their bills and feed their families.

And so you take that away and then maybe they didn't pay rent 'cause they had to get food one one month in the whole is very hard to climb out of, let alone That's true.

- Two three, and to put some numbers to it, three fourths of all SNAP recipients are children and the elderly and the vast majority of the rest of those have at least one full-time member working in the household or are a full-time caretaker.

There's been misconceptions and tropes about folks who receive SNAP benefits for years, for years.

I mean, you harken back to the eighties of the welfare queen and just when you look at the data and the raw facts, none of 'em are true.

And it's actually, frankly really hard to qualify for snap.

And there is a really high threshold to qualify and there are so many people who are working their tails off to make ends meet.

And those snap benefits are truly the difference between putting food on the table and not.

- And the, the, the terrible inflation, which I hadn't seen since the 1970s, it didn't, you know, we had an election again, nope, not naming political parties, but I, I saw a lot of candidates saying, you know, vote will end inflation.

It didn't end.

Absolutely.

And a lot of the, as you well know, of course working for harvesters, a lot of the products, once they went up to a very high price, they're not going down.

- They didn't down didn't drop.

Nope.

Nope.

- So now it's more expensive to provide services to the same exact number of people, let alone having more people.

Right, - Absolutely.

When you look at prices from 2019 to today, food prices are still up 25%.

- Yeah.

They're not going - Down.

They're not going down.

And one of the challenges is, and the recent legislation, HR one otherwise known as the one big beautiful bill, they actually put a cap on what the price per meal that people will be re you know, receive benefits for SNAP for.

So even as prices increase, people's snap benefits will no longer increase.

So as food prices continue to rise, they're able to buy less and less with those dollars.

So that's one of the big challenges that so many people are facing is wages aren't rising, snap benefits aren't rising, but food prices are.

- And then let's take 43 days and - Yeah.

- Cut all the, all those things.

Oh boy.

Well let's make sure viewers are watching can help if they want to help.

So what types of food, non-food items would you tell the viewers, Hey, these are most needed right now.

You can also mention what's needed all the time, but right now we'll start with Elizabeth.

- Yeah, so some of our most popular items that people always want are proteins.

So you think about peanut butter, canned chicken, canned tuna, those are always really desired.

And then we get into other things like canned fruit is often things that people don't think about purchasing for food drives that people want.

Cereals are another great item that we simply cannot keep enough in our inventory.

But most importantly, if you're think about what you provide and what the pantry staples you have as a family, that box of pasta, those key things that a lot of people want that are hard to reach.

So what our neighbors want are what you feed your family.

So whatever staples are in your house, I really encourage you to donate.

- Okay.

What about doorstep?

- But please check the expiration dates.

- Yes.

Oh, okay.

Especially if - You're, and don't donate from your own and don't, just because you checked - The expiration, you'd be surprised how old some of this donations can be.

Sometimes.

So true.

Yeah.

They clean out, you know, grandma's cupboard and it's like, whoa, - What items this doorstep, you know, want people to know that would be appreciated most I guess at this time.

- Yeah, absolutely.

Those staples and you know, we, we, we feel like, you know, we try to give a very broad amount of stuff.

I think even things like noodles, egg noodles, we give pancake mix and syrup and you know, one, one great thing we've started to get was some donations from harvesters or I guess from Dollar General through harvesters.

And so we've been able to give out things like fresh milk, so, Hmm.

Even if you wanna, you know, donate maybe some gallons of fresh milk or something like that, you know, it's, it's something that, again, you don't really think about if you can buy it.

But generally our options are canned or powdered milk.

And when we, when you can offer someone even something as simple as a gallon of milk, you know, it can really just help brighten their day a little - Bit.

And I think this might be helpful 'cause you've alluded to this, what should people not donate that would cause you all more work to deal with, even though it's a good spirited donation, what shouldn't they donate that really you, you can't use?

What about heart - Open and open and expired food.

Okay.

Absolutely.

If you were going to donate in a community collection barrel, so say a barrel that you might see at your grocery store, don't put anything perishable in there.

If you have fresh perishable, take that product directly to doorstep.

Please don't put that anything perishable in those barrels.

It might take some days to get to us and it would be bad by then.

But really another thing to keep an eye out, especially with expiration dates, is if you're gonna donate something like formula or baby food, those are really important that those need to stay within the expiration date.

And then any cans that are severely dented or crushed.

So anything that might have exposure.

- Well, I want to thank you for, for your work.

I've been told, you know, we've got a minute or something and the question's on here, and I'm sorry for the time crunch, but 30 seconds, 45 seconds.

The question is, what gives you hope in the face of these challenges you could tell our views about Start with Lisa.

- Well, obviously in 32 years there's been an ebb and flow throughout that time.

The biggest thing that gives me hope and that I continually see is that we are in a very giving community.

And if people are in a position to give, they do realizing that they have neighbors in need.

And so I, I see, I see people rally every, every time, - Elizabeth, - If this shutdown did one thing, I think it brought light to the amount of people in our country who are facing hunger every single day.

I have had people talk to me and I have seen conversations on a national level around hunger that I haven't seen and the over decade that I've been in this work.

So I was really hopeful and just see a lot of opportunities to how much this country and our communities have been awoken to the problem of hunger.

And I think now we have a lot more advocates in the Fight Against Hunger today than we did a month ago.

- Jason, - You got 15 seconds, sorry.

But I know you have some hope.

So we have, you know, we, we've been able to work together with other agencies in town, food agencies, and just the kind of coming together, the mines coming together and figuring out how can we help each other and smaller agencies as well, different food pantries and such.

You know, United Way has helped lead kind of that drive and it's been very successful.

- Yeah.

Thank you so much for offering such great information and, and hope a lot of people heard some, some, some things that will help them and also understand more about the problem here.

That's all the time we have for this episode of igi.

If you have any comments or suggestions for future topics, send us an email at issues@ktwu.org.

If you would like to view this program again or any previous episodes of igi, visit us online@watch.ktwu.org.

For IGI, I'm Bob Beatty.

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We appreciate your financial support.

Thank you.