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Speaker urges commissioners to recommit to food-system resiliency after SNAP interruption
Summary
At the Nov. 17 meeting, resident Catherine Elkins told the board that local SNAP interruptions left thousands without benefits and asked the county to recommit to a 2021 resolution supporting food-system resiliency; she described local coordination among faith groups, pantries and volunteers.
Catherine Elkins, a resident of Gloucester, asked the Clark County Board of Commissioners to recommit to a January 25, 2021 resolution that supported the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ initiative to promote food-system resiliency. Elkins said the resolution originally committed the board to an ongoing examination of the county’s food system and stronger community supports.
Elkins described local impacts from a recent federal shutdown and SNAP interruption, saying that on Oct. 1 local social-services records showed more than 3,450 households — nearly 6,000 people — receiving SNAP benefits and that recipients received an average of about $187 per month for staple foods. She said SNAP payments were withheld early in the shutdown and that on Nov. 1 some recipients were denied benefits. Elkins said the region’s food system struggled to absorb the surge in demand during that interruption.
"We ask that the board of commissioners abide by their January 2021 commitments to strengthen our food system to sustain a thriving community," Elkins told commissioners. She described the formation of a local Carter Food and Health Council that hosted three well-attended meetings to mobilize churches, food pantries, Meals on Wheels and volunteers and to publish an updated food-resource list.
Elkins warned that the county would not be ready if the Emergency Food Bank received smaller USDA shipments or if programs such as WIC or school lunch were reduced, and she urged commissioners to recommit to the earlier resolution; the board did not take immediate action on the request during the meeting.
