KANSAS (KSNT) – 27 News spoke to Harvesters Communications Manager Matt Hammer regarding the federal government shutdown and how it could impact the charitable organization.
According to Hammer, the biggest concern is a prolonged shutdown. He said Harvesters has a diverse means of sourcing its food, and only about 15% of the organization’s funding/food poundage comes from federal sources.
“So right now food insecurity is at the highest point that it’s been in over a decade,” Hammer said. “One in seven people in our service area are experiencing food insecurity. So a prolonged shutdown would lead to a lot of federal employees and active duty military members, more people that work for federal contracts are not receiving paychecks, and so those people would be in a position where they may need a food pantry.”
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Hammer said he’s concerned that if the shutdown lasts for too long, Harvesters may become inundated with people needing food. He also said that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) programs are only funded through October. He said that if those recipients can’t access the program, it could be devastating.
According to Hammer, every one meal that Harvesters provides, SNAP provides nine. He said there’s no way charitable food systems could provide enough food for those meals.
27 News reached out to various county health departments in northeast Kansas. Some departments said the shutdown wouldn’t affect their local offices. However, others said they may have as little as 10-11 days worth of funding remaining.
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