The Upper Susitna Food Pantry is in better shape than others in the Valley, but every pantry and food bank in the state is being stretched thin.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides food assistance for families in need. That help is handed out by the state, but Alaska is months behind in processing applications. Because the state is so backlogged, food pantries have become a necessity for many to put enough food on the table.
We reached out to the Division of Public Assistance for comments, but received no response. The call times indicated a four hour wait. The same email address to apply is used for all 11 offices of the Division of Public Assistance and there is no option to apply online. Email, fax, or delivering the paperwork in person are the only ways to apply at this time.
LouAnne Carroll-Tysdal, the Executive Director of the Upper Susitna Food Pantry and the President of the Mat-Su Food Coalition indicates that Alaska has been behind since 2018 for various reasons.
Food pantries can get some goods through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP. During the pandemic, those were coming in twice a month, but now most pantries have dropped back to once per month for those federal commodities. But there are other ways that pantries can get stocked.
Carroll-Tysdal has been conducting a survey and discovered that 96 percent of the time, residents cited a delay in food stamp benefits being the cause of their visit to the Upper Susitna Food Pantry. In January, 20 new families were added to the program for a total of 649 people served. The High School food pantry served 326 people. More and more, pantries are being used to provide all the food while families wait for assistance.
Ron Meehan, the Policy and Advocacy Manager of the Food Bank of Alaska says that “The urgency of this can’t be overstated because of the potential damage to the state’s food system.”
Carroll-Tysdal seconds that.
Not only are the food pantries and food banks stretched for resources, they also are finding it difficult to maintain a stock in case of supply chain problems or other issues. Executive Director of the Mat-Su Food Bank, Eddie Ezelle, says that 95 percent of the Bank’s food comes from the lower 48 and that inventory shows they have about a month to six weeks of stock right now. And there are no fresh foods. Ezelle just acquired a warehouse space to help alleviate that issue and hopefully provide more assistance for those in need.
When asked how we could help, LouAnne Carroll-Tysdal says the Upper Susitna Food Pantry needs volunteers, funding, food, and support at the legislative level.
