NJ Spotlight published the following article on 7/7/2014. To read the full article, click here.
Overburdened NJ Food Pantries Challenged to Feed More Hungry Clients
Hank Kalet | July 7, 2014Food pantries across the state, already seeing record numbers of clients, are bracing for another increase now that hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents are facing cuts in their federal food assistance benefits.
The change in eligibility, which will affect about a third of the families now receiving assistance, is the result of the cancellation of a utility allowance for about 159,000 New Jersey families.
The allowance let SNAP beneficiaries claim utility costs against their income and thus increase their benefits. It was scrapped July 1 and will hit individual families as their food stamp recertification occurs.
The likely result: more people visiting pantries and many needing to visit them more often, pantry organizers. It comes in the wake of a series of other cuts that are currently stressing the emergency food system.
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