Hood County commissioners vote unanimously to provide $100,000 to United Way for emergency food relief after SNAP pause

Hood County’s commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 6 to authorize $100,000 from the county’s emergency management disaster fund to United Way of Hood County for immediate food purchases and distribution, citing sharply increased demand after a federal shutdown halted SNAP benefit deliveries.

County Judge (name not provided) made the motion during a special emergency meeting called at about 1 p.m., and Commissioner Wilson seconded it. The court confirmed the county’s emergency management fund (Fund 101) had about $250,000 available and instructed staff to prepare a check for United Way so local nonprofits could begin buying and preparing food.

Crystal, speaking for a coalition of local nonprofits and food pantries, told the court the interruption in federal shipments left the Tarrant Area Food Bank West warehouse with roughly one day of SNAP-targeted inventory for its entire service district and that pantries would need cash to purchase raw materials and use community kitchens to prepare casseroles for distribution. ‘‘This is not charity. This is an emergency stabilization,’’ Crystal said, urging the court to treat the request as a short-term bridge until federal benefits resume.

Meredith Corrigan, identified as speaking on behalf of the Hood County Senior Center, told the court the center had cut 47 seniors off Meals on Wheels since Jan. 1 because of funding shortfalls and estimated the coalition needed $100,000 to support pantries and to buy ingredients for prepared meals the senior center could cook and distribute. ‘‘We are asking for the county to stand with the community, provide emergency stabilization while we work through the federal disruptions,’’ Corrigan said.

Dan Hulan, representing People Helping People, said his organization’s daily distribution had risen from about 40–50 people to more than 100 this week and that the $100,000 would ‘‘get us started’’ though demand could grow. Mary Flores, a victim-services liaison at the Hood County Sheriff’s Office and Salvation Army advisory board member, described calls to deputies to check on elderly residents who had no food or water, saying such welfare checks can tie up law-enforcement resources.

Court members discussed logistics — which fund to use and how quickly a check could be issued — and agreed Fund 101 was appropriate for an emergency disbursement. The judge asked staff to prepare the paperwork so United Way of Hood County could begin distributing funds to participating local nonprofits without administrative fees; the court voted ‘‘aye,’’ and the clerk recorded the motion as unanimous, 5–0.

The action authorizes immediate emergency stabilization funding; the meeting record shows the court intends the United Way to distribute the money among the coalition of local food pantries and meal programs. The court did not adopt any long-term policy change in this session.

Next steps: staff were directed to prepare the check and the distribution paperwork; United Way and local nonprofits will handle procurement and meal preparation pending restoration of federal benefit deliveries.