Pantry Stretched Thin With SNAP Delays

The Upper Susitna Food Pantry has become somewhat of a lifeline for Upper Valley residents, especially since the State of Alaska is not processing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, applications within the required 30 days.

Food Pantry Executive Director LouAnne Carroll-Tysdal says the pantry is very busy and the need seems to be growing across the community. She says now there are more children and families coming into the program. But the State’s SNAP backlog has created a stressed situation for residents and the pantries that support them.

Carroll-Tysdal says the State has told residents to go to the local food banks and pantries while they wait for their benefits to be processed. That’s despite residents applying on time.

A federal judge recently ordered the State to process SNAP applications faster. Despite the State paying more than $50 million to upgrade their system and resolving some of the backlog, it still takes beyond the required 30 days to process applications. 

Carroll-Tysdal says she often must look for funding from Outside and Valley-wide resources to purchase more and more food. But she says they can’t afford to continually purchase food to feed those in need. And many funding sources will pay for equipment and other items, but not food.

There are seasonal fluctuations with the number of households served. But February 2024 was one of the highest they had seen with distributions to 507 households. March was only slightly lower with 483 households. September dipped to 398. And the Upper Susitna Food Pantry serves households from Trapper Creek to Caswell Lakes.

Carroll-Tysdal says what’s most concerning is that the State has been aware of it for quite some time. She says the Pantry is grateful to all their funders so they can provide food to every family in need.