The Face of Hunger Might Surprise You
A small consignment business ran by a mother - daughter team, Cathy and Laura, fell on hard times when tragedy struck unexpectedly. Laura, a mother of two young boys, lost her husband to a heart attack, leaving her with little money and a fragile emotional state. Selling their home was not enough to cover the bills. Laura tried renting an apartment but could not keep up with the payments. Having no place else to go, Laura and her boys moved in with Cathy to try to make ends meet. However, being a small business owner with a tight budget, Cathy could not provide the food needed to feed Laura’s family. That is when Cathy told her she needed to see what resources were available.
Laura first reached out to her local SNAP office but discovered she did not meet the eligibility requirements. Having been turned down, she felt discouraged –what could she do to keep food on the table?
Fortunately, a friend encouraged her reach out to us. In addition to providing traditional, SNAP eligible programs, we also have a program called “Feed the Gap.” Feed the Gap is a branch of our Staple Box Food program. Recognizing the ALICE population (asset limited, income constrained, employed) who live paycheck to paycheck can be in need but not meet eligibility requirements for the traditional program, Feed the Gap raises the eligibility income limit slightly to assist this population. Traditional guidelines for SNAP and corresponding programs set eligibility at 130% and below the Federal Poverty Line (FPL). Our Feed the Gap program sets this income bracket eligibility maximum to 131-200%, giving families the hand up they need while they respond to life events, unexpected bills, and other unforeseen circumstances.
Hunger comes in so many different forms: the single mother trying to make ends meet; the homebound veteran whose only income is a disability check, the elderly couple on a fixed income, the young family dealing with an unexpected layoff. These are the people that we meet every day that need a little help.
Inflation is now making it harder for these families to make ends meet. We have seen a steep increase in the number of Feed The Gap families served, as well an increase in traditional program participants. Whether someone needs emergency food or long-term support, we are here to help.
Hunger isn’t one size fits all and at Northshore Food Bank, we strive to have programs that meet the needs of the people we serve.
