WASHINGTON - More than a half-million Arkansans relying on the federal food-stamp program will see their benefits cut in November.
Nationwide, about 47 million Americans will receive less food aid.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program received a boost in funding in 2009, as part of a federal stimulus package. But those extra dollars run out Friday when the program gets trimmed by $5 billion.
In October, the Arkansas Department of Human Services sent letters to benefit recipients informing them to expect the reductions of about $10 per month per household member, according to spokesman Amy Webb.
In September, the average recipient in Arkansas received $121.36 per month. Many households have more than one recipient; the average per-household benefit was $271.52.
Feeding America, a national network of food banks, has calculated the money cut nationwide as the equivalent of 1.9 billion meals. Ross Fraser, Feeding America’s spokesman, said charities will be unable to fully absorb this increased need. He said many food banks have been operating at emergency levels since 2007.
The number of people using food stamps spiked during the recession. Recipients make up 17 percent of Arkansas’ population.
Many recipients also rely on food pantries for some of their meals and the cuts will stretch those resources thinner, said Ken Kupchick of the River Valley Regional Food Bank in Fort Smith.
“Most pantries are having trouble as it is,” Kupchick said. Many of the food pantries that River Valley supplies have struggled to keep up with increasing demand. “They are just at the breaking point in terms of being able to provide the food that is needed.”
At Mosaic Church in Little Rock, people who are about to experience food-stamp cuts lined up Tuesday to receive free food.
Floyd Brown, a former construction worker who retired when he developed heart problems, said his work options are limited because he is unable to read or write and has never used a computer.
Brown said he receives $97 worth of food stamps each month and visits six or seven church food pantries each month to cover the rest of his food needs, he said in a phone interview while waiting in line.
Brown, who showed up at noon for the 2 p.m. giveaway, said he’ll survive this reduction. But he’s worried about what will happen to others if the benefit is cut further. “It’s going to be chaos,” Brown said. “I think the government really needs to wake up.” With the cuts looming, demand for food aid already is high.
The Alma Community Outreach Center in western Arkansas has seen a 32 percent increase in the number of people using its faith-based food pantry from the previous year. Eldon Mushrush, executive director, said the line often stretches down the block.
“It’s a strain on us to keep up with demand,” said Mushrush. The outreach center had to reduce the number of canned goods it distributes from eight to four, Mushrush said.
Mushrush said 80 percent of the outreach center’s patrons in September were also food-stamp recipients.
Kupchick said the tighter budget will force needy families to make hard choices. Many may stop buying fresh meats and produce, which are expensive, in favor of less-expensive processed food, which is high in calories and low in nutritional value.
The cuts also will have economic consequences for Arkansans who don’t use the food-stamp program, said Stacy Dean, vice president of food-assistance policy for the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priority.
The center calculated the economic effect the cuts pose to each state: Arkansas stands to lose $52 million in money food-stamp recipients would have spent in grocery stores. That loss has a ripple effect on local economies, especially in small towns, Dean said.
The U.S. House and Senate are currently in conference to reconcile their differences and approve a new federal farm bill. The Republican plan that passed in the House would cut food stamps by $39 billion over the next 10 years. Republicans have blamed President Barack Obama for the increase in food-stamp use, and they argue that cutting the program will help reduce the deficit. The Senate plan, passed by a Democratic majority, would pinch food stamps by $4 billion.
“That’s the conversation in line,” Mushrush said. “People ask me, ‘What’s going to happen?’”
Kupchick said any additional cuts will exacerbate the difficulties low-income families have buying nutritious food.
“It makes me worried when you see that the $5 billion cut will do this. Simple math will tell you what an additional $4 billion will do,” Kupchick said. “What we’re talking about is a nutrition crisis in America.”
Bob Newbold, a Tea Party organizer in Fort Smith, supports reining in the food stamp program because he thinks it will ease the burden on taxpayers. “My thought is that we’ve got to cut back on all the social programs: the welfare, the food stamps, the free housing.”
Newbold said food assistance should not be the government’s responsibility.
“I think we’re training folks - from kindergarten, really - that you don’t need to work for your food, your housing,” Newbold said. “We can’t keep doing that.” He questioned the rationale for food-assistance programs, noting the United States’ high rate of obesity.
But Fraser of Feeding America said food-stamp users become overweight precisely because they only can afford highly processed foods that are high in fat.
Fraser said cuts in food stamps will aggravate the problems of communities already struggling to recover from the recession.
“It doesn’t create more jobs,” Fraser said. “It just results in more empty stomachs.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 10/30/2013