With the U.S. government shutdown about to enter its fourth week, local community leaders and elected officials are warning those who receive nutritional and heat assistance benefits to prepare to seek alternatives if it drags on to November.
The shutdown has already delayed the start of the Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP. Originally slated to start Nov. 3, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday the state's home heating program has been pushed back to Nov. 17 until federal funds are allocated by Congress.
On top of that, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (SNAP) benefits will also be paused if congressional Republicans and Democrats don’t come to an agreement by Nov. 1. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said a pause in SNAP benefits will impact 78,000 households across the county.
"It's not just individuals who are unemployed. It is individuals who are employed, it is seniors looking to supplement Social Security, it is working families with young children at home," he said of those who use the program.
Erie County First Deputy Commissioner of Social Services Dan Szewc said the Department of Social Services will contact SNAP households directly with emergency food resource information starting next week, and recipients should not come down to the Rath Building in downtown Buffalo unless requested or without a scheduled interview. He explained that new applications and recertifications paperwork for both SNAP and HEAP benefits will still be accepted as normal.
"It's important that households continue to submit the requested paperwork in a timely manner, and that you remain available for any scheduled appointments," Szewc said. "Our amazing staff continues to work on a daily basis and processing all these applications so we want to make sure that everybody that is eligible can get them as soon as possible when the government shutdown ends."
Rev. Kinzer Pointer of Liberty Baptist Church in Buffalo’s Johnson Park neighborhood urged fellow faith leaders to step up to the plate to help those in need.
"If you don't have a food pantry in your church, in your mosque, in your temple - now is a good time to open a food pantry. I know that it is a logistical thing, but there are plenty of hands in all of our congregations to do this work," he said.
More than 92,000 HEAP benefits were provided last winter in Erie County alone, many of them to seniors, according to Poloncarz. Those in need are encouraged to visit the Erie County Department of Social Services website to find out if they qualify for other assistance programs.
FeedMore WNY is a large foodbank hub which disperses resources to a network of food pantries locally. You can find your nearest food pantry on their website.
The U.S. government shut down on Oct. 1 after congressional Republicans and Democrats could not agree to pass a bill that funded federal services. Democrats are demanding that healthcare tax credits be included in the bill, as well as a reversal to Medicaid cuts made by the Trump administration. But Republicans want a "clean" bill and insist healthcare negotiations can happen separately and at a later date.
