By Patricia LeBoeuf, The Berkshire Eagle
Local advocates are bracing for reductions in food assistance following passing of the tax bill, fearful that cuts to safety net programs lie ahead because of an expanding federal deficit."I feel like it's opening the door to revision of our social programs," said Carol Purcell, president of the board of directors of the People's Pantry in Great Barrington.
The law, signed by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22, makes deep and lasting cuts to corporate taxes and temporarily lowers individual income taxes. It has been projected to increase the deficit by as much as $1.5 trillion by 2027.
Andrew Morehouse, executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, says there is already talk of cutting government spending to offset these deficits — particularly through programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
SNAP assists one in every nine Massachusetts residents, according to a January 2017 report from the state Department of Transitional Assistance. In June 2017, 8,528 people in Pittsfield were receiving SNAP, along with 3,191 in North Adams and 475 in Great Barrington, according to a state report.
New cuts would compound earlier reductions in the SNAP program. Current benefits average about $1.40 per person, per meal.
"So many people already are food-insecure, and already suffering tremendously," Morehouse said. "I can't even fathom how much worse it can get. We're already at the knife's edge, and have been for some time."
Families are caught between increasing costs of living and decreasing programs to help them break out of poverty, he said.
SNAP is authorized at the federal level through a multi-year law known as the Farm Bill that governs an array of agricultural and food programs.
SNAP is up for potential re-authorization this year.
"No one knows exactly what's going to happen," Morehouse said of potential SNAP changes. "We're all bracing ourselves."
GREATER NEED
If SNAP benefits are cut at the federal level, Berkshire County food pantries expect to see greater need.
Some people would rely on the People's Pantry more than ever — and the pantry has already been seeing numbers in the 60s and 70s each week, said Purcell, of the Great Barrington program.
"If the federal government doesn't increase the help, rather than take it away from programs like SNAP, they're going to be more and more people who need help," Purcell said.
Mary Wheat, food pantry manager of the South Congregational Church in Pittsfield, remembers when the pantry distributed about 15 bags of food a week. Now, it's about 500.
"The more that people's benefits are cut, obviously, the greater the need for pantries and meal sites," said Ellen Merritt, executive director of the Christian Center, which provides a food pantry and a meals program.
When Community Health Programs works with clients on food issues, staff members ask if they receive SNAP benefits, or if they would like information about the program.
"We normally would have, 'No, I'm fine,'" Mary Feuer, assistant director of the federal Women, Infants, and Children unit, or WIC, at Community Health Programs.
"Now, we're noticing that WIC is not enough."
Feuer said that when people get help securing food, they're more able to pay necessary expenses like rent or electric bills.
"Things don't spiral out of hand," she said, as they can this time of year.
"Especially this time of year, with fuel oil. We'll see it in the next month or so. People have run out of money," she said.
People seek out SNAP benefits for different reasons, Feuer said.
"Usually, a change in somebody's life is a really big thing," she said. "We have moms whose husbands leave them, and they're struggling to get child support, and they have a brand-new baby. We've had elderly whose spouses have died. ... It's everybody, and it can touch anybody."
LOOKING AHEAD
Many who could qualify for SNAP are not enrolled, said Christina Maxwell, director of programs for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Some people assume they're not eligible. Others may fear red tape.
Previously, the state Department of Transitional Assistance had telephone wait times of up to an hour for people seeking assistance with SNAP, Maxwell said.
She cites gains in service that have reduced those waits, but many people don't know that.
Sometimes, people hesitate to put their needs first.
"A lot of seniors in particular tell us they would rather save the benefits for someone else who needs it more," she said. "Which is heartbreaking."
Maxwell said that if SNAP benefits are cut, the food bank would not be able to close the gap.
"We wouldn't even come close," she said.
WIC offers benefits to people with unique dietary needs. They include pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to age 5.
In Massachusetts, SNAP also offers a Healthy Incentives Program that doubles benefits if they're used on local fruits and vegetables at places like farmers markets and farm stands.
Patricia LeBoeuf can be reached at pleboeuf@berkshireeagle.com, at @BE_pleboeuf on Twitter and 413-496-6247.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
