"Sabrina Carter hasn't been to a real restaurant in at least a year. I don't receive but $24 a month in food stamps. And, you know, it runs out real quick, she said. She lives alone. When she splurges, it's on cereal or maybe a granola bar. Tuesday afternoon, she went to Area in Need Missionary House in Riverdale, Georgia, to pick up a basket from its pantry."
"Also there was Erica Barker, who has been looking for work for a year after losing her job with a contractor to DeKalb county's watershed department. Her visit to the pantry was her first, she said. Barker is trying to take care of a daughter and grandson, without benefits. Together, they're spending between $200 and $300 a week. We only do dinner. We have a lot of noodles in the house."
"You never know what a person is going through when they walk through these doors, said Stephanie Jordan, the executive director of the non-profit. That's why it's so important to treat people with respect. The food pantry's costs are climbing, Jordan said. Last year, we were seeing roughly 280 people a month. Now we are seeing over 500 a month. The floodgates opened when food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) went into hiatus during the federal government shutdown. Demand hasn't receded."
Eleven months into Donald Trump's second administration, Atlanta residents across socioeconomic lines report intensified food insecurity and reliance on food pantries. Some receive only $24 monthly in food stamps and rarely go to restaurants, limiting treats to inexpensive items like cereal or granola bars. Others who lost jobs are supporting family members without benefits and spending $200–$300 weekly, relying on inexpensive staples. Area in Need Missionary House has seen monthly visitors rise from roughly 280 to over 500, straining resources and increasing pantry costs after a hiatus in SNAP benefits during a federal shutdown.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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