One in six Texas households are food insecure, according to the nonprofit Feeding Texas and it just got harder for them to get assistance as Supplemental Food Assistance and Nutrition Program benefits will be unavailable for the month of November.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees the SNAP program, notified state agencies earlier this month that if the shutdown continued past Oct. 27, November payments to participants would be halted.
In Texas, means a halt to more than $614 million to the 3.5 million people who rely each month on SNAP, also known as food stamps. Of those who are impacted, 1.7 million are children.
Fortunately, there is still help for people in need and ways for others to lend a hand.
“Erath is situated better than a lot of surrounding counties,” said Leta Sage who oversees the food pantry at Dublin’s First Methodist Church. Sage noted that there are several food banks and pantries across the county and they often assist each other.
Ray and Barbara Sissom, organizers of the Love Basket Drive-Through food bank which celebrated its 20th anniversary this month, agreed noting that if one has an excess of an item, it will often get shared with others. They also stated their appreciation for Erath County United Way who helps with their funding.
The Sissoms also noted a wealth of support this year from Spec’s delivering unbought snacks and juices, donations from the Knights of Columbus, and support through donors on the Dublin TX Chatter group and donations collected at The Dublin Public Library and in boxes just set up by Young Patriots of America at Dublin’s Dollar General Market and Stephenville’s Family Dollar to benefit local food pantries. Canned meat and vegetables are the most needed donations.
FMC’s food pantry is managed in the church for Dublin residents only so a Photo ID and piece of Dublin mail are required. Thay are regular helped by Dublin Bottling Works who provide boxes, Woman’s Thursday Club who donate toiletries and Brookshire Brothers, whose Brown Bags of Hope allows customers to scan a code at the counter to donate a collection of items to Dublin food banks. Brown Bags of Hope is currently taking place at Brookshire Brothers and bags can be purchased for $10 each.
Both Sage and the Sissoms said they welcome any food donations but monetary donations are preferred because they are usually able to get items at discounted rates through their partnerships. Monetary donations can be set to The Love Basket at 3705 N. FM 219, Dublin TX 76446.
Even with all of this support, every bit of help is needed as the Sissoms said they averaged 255 families served per month (up from 225 in the summer) and both Love Basket and FMC have seen 8-12 new families register per month.
“This area is a generous area, but sometimes they don’t realize the need,” said Barbara Sissom.
The volunteers noted they were grateful to be able to help those needing assistance and encourage local residents and families to get assistance if they need it.
Sage said she often see household that have lost a paycheck come in and she tells them they probably know others also living from paycheck to paycheck.
Those in need can find help in Dublin through: Love Basket, open every first and third Friday at the first Quik-Lok storage building behind City Hall on Elm St., 8 a.m.-11 a.m. and 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
First Methodist Church, Dublin residents can get one box per month, Photo ID and piece of Dublin mail required, call (254) 445-2157 before visiting.
Cottonwood Baptist Church, Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 a.m.-noon, call (254) 445-2929 for more information.
Assistance is available in Stephenville through: Grace Place Ministries/ First Baptist Church, 365 W. Tarleton Street, (254) 9654022 H.O.P.E. Inc., 1617 E. Washington, (254) 965-2700 Basic Needs Food Pantry, 312 N. Graham St, (254) 965-4510 St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 595 N. McIlhaney, (254) 968-6949 Tarrant County Food Bank also has two monthly drive-through deliveries: the first Thursday of every month in the Dublin First Baptist Church parking lot and the third Thursday at Stephenville First Baptist. Mobile food pantries are held from 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.