Feeding South Dakota prepares to meet growing need

RAPID CITY, S.D. — With the start of November this Saturday — 40-million Americans who rely on snap food benefits will see them reduced, or stop altogether — if the government shutdown continues..

As the deadline approaches — local food banks are preparing for what could be another strain on their resources.

Snap is intended to stretch a grocery budget, not cover all food costs, and provide low income families access to healthy food.

In South Dakota, about 75,000 people receive snap benefits.

“It’s really hard to know what that could look like for us when it comes down to numbers of people. We’re spending some time this week getting very planful about contingency plans and and making sure that we can do all that we possibly can in the communities coming into November with those benefits changing,” said Stacey Andernacht, Vice President of Public Relations, Feeding South Dakota.

Feeding South Dakota distributes food to every county in South Dakota. providing nearly 12 million meals a year.

Snap benefits being withheld is one more stressor on the organization.

In April, Feeding South Dakota was notified they would not receive 11 expected loads of food through a federal program.

In July, cuts to federal food assistance programs resulted in more pressure on food banks.

“It is a challenging time right now as a food bank, you know, we are the food safety net for South Dakota. Our goal, our mission, our focus, is making sure that every South Dakotan has access to the food that they need to thrive, and especially in times of uncertainty and and we’re looking at a couple of different, you know, groups of folks who are feeling some uncertainty right now, and we want to make sure that they don’t feel uncertain about putting food on their table,” Andernacht said.

Feeding South Dakota is navigating the changing landscape.

Donations of cash and food to the organization like the recent South Dakota Farmers Union donation of 35,000 pounds of pork will help Feeding South Dakota meet its mission in South Dakota.

“Really, as we come into November, we’re going to need community support in order to bring us across that finish line, in order to help us, you know, bring an influx of food into the community and across the state. I can’t tell you exactly what that looks like, but it’s going to be food, for sure. It’s going to be dollars to purchase food that’s going to be our greatest need, if the shutdown continues into November,” Andernacht said.

Jerry Steinley has lived in the Black Hills most of his life and calls Rapid City home. He received a degree in Journalism with a minor in Political Science from Metropolitan State University in Denver in 1994.