The Trenton Times published the following article on November 21, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Federal cut puts more pressure on struggling Trenton food pantries
By Nicole Mulvaney/The Times of Trenton
on November 21, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated November 21, 2013 at 6:37 AMTRENTON — Food has been flying off the shelves of area food pantries for the past few months, forcing many charitable agencies to ration out their supplies and turn hungry families away.
But on Nov. 1, a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, expired, leaving organizations even more desperate for donations as additional families became dependant on food pantries to supplement their meals.
“We have seen a lot of new people since Nov. 1. Even working people are struggling right now,” food pantry case manager Talaya Woodall said of the Catholic Charities pantry on North Warren Street. “The holidays are coming, and we don’t want anyone suffering.”
The cut in food assistance is the result of the expiration of an increase to SNAP recipients that policymakers included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to strengthen the economy and ease hardship, said Raymond Castro, New Jersey Policy Perspective’s senior policy analyst.