Staff at Hope Southern Indiana have grown increasingly concerned in recent months about how to provide enough food to a growing number of people who need it. They’re not alone.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through Dare to Care, and donations supply the organization’s food pantry.
In late May, leaders put out an emergency call on social media asking the community for help, as the shelves reached a critical state.
“We weren't getting enough Dare to Care food to meet the need,” executive director Becki Romans said. “We weren't getting enough donations from the community to meet the need because the need was increasing so rapidly.”
She said the community stepped up, bringing in around $33,000 worth of food in a week, which helped Hope Southern Indiana continue serving its clients. Romans said they’re grateful for the support, but that kind of emergency ask isn’t something they can count on long term.
Romans and others are concerned as they’re seeing more people come in for food, and as the federal government threatens to cut benefits and shrink their food supply.
“I can't imagine that if we ask them to step up every week with that kind of help, that organizations or individuals would be able to afford that,” she said.
The problem could be worsened if residents get less from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or Medicaid, she said.
‘A time of crisis’
Hope Southern Indiana clients get a larger food package once a month, and can come in more often for produce and bread. For some, that isn’t enough, even combined with what they can get through SNAP.
Romans said they’ve seen around a big increase in people visiting the food pantry. In April, they served 590 households. Then came May, with 640 households, and they’re expecting to help more than 1,000 in June. They’re also seeing a lot of new people.
They’re also seeing more people from outside Floyd County, mainly from Clark, after a recent change by the USDA that calls for pantries that provide its food to not limit who they serve based on geography.
“The need is increasing very rapidly,” Romans said. “So we're really in time of crisis, even without any of the cuts that they're talking about making in the new bill to SNAP.”
A reconciliation bill that would implement more rigorous conditions, including expanded work requirements, for people to receive SNAP benefits is expected to cut the assistance for millions of people nationwide, if it passes.
Romans said that would put more pressure on people struggling to make ends meet. Already, the rising costs of groceries and other basic necessities are driving people to seek help in order to get all the bills paid.
“Most of the people we see are people who work,” she said. “They're just not paid enough to eat.”
Earlier this month, a woman named Ashley visited the Hope Southern Indiana pantry for the first time, after being recommended to the organization by a friend.
Ashley, who didn’t give her last name, works full-time and is recently divorced with two kids.
“I'm just trying to get my bearings and get back on my feet for my kids…to be able to provide for them,” she said. “Temporary assistance will definitely help me.”
She waited to ask for help, but said people should “not let your pride take control and if you need help, definitely reach out.”
Funding shrinking
At the Center for Lay Ministries in Jeffersonville, director Kara Brown is also seeing an influx of people.
From January to late June they had seen 818 new households. That’s an increase of almost 180 compared to the same time period last year.
Overall visits increased almost 1,400 from 2023 to 2024, and Brown said they’re on track to see a similar increase this year.
They’re seeing larger households as economic factors stress families.
“They're saying their household went from four people to eight people because…their niece needed to move in, somebody needed help,” she said. “And so people are making it work however best they can.”
Making matters worse, some assistance they’ve received in the past isn’t there this year.
Brown said the organization applies each year for an Emergency Food and Shelter Program grant through United Way Worldwide. Last year, they got around $21,000 to buy food from April through December. The amount varies year to year.
They couldn’t do that this year. United Way’s website references a January memo from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget pausing federal financial assistance.
“It's a huge impact on food,” Brown said. “We're seeking other ways. We've applied for other grants, trying to fulfill that…gap.”
Romans, at Hope Southern Indiana, said she recently learned that if the reconciliation bill passes, it will mean a decrease in the food from Dare to Care. At the same time, families would lose benefits.
“I think that it's important for the community who cares to know that we're already in crisis, and that unless we protect and strengthen SNAP, the crisis is going to get worse,” Romans said. “But I also think there's just a need to support ourselves and other local food providers, because we can't do this alone.”
Brown said they’re trying different avenues — community callouts, an upcoming fundraiser — to make sure they have enough food to give away.
“I do think, in the near future, it's going to be more challenging,” she said. “So we'll just keep looking for the resources…and doing the best we can.”
Dare to Care has this online tool to help locate food pantries and meals by area.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
