Politics & Government

Food Stamp Benefit Cuts Affect Hundreds Struggling in Santee

Monthly food stamp benefits for a family of four dropped $36 on Friday, with the Santee Food Bank ready to pick up the slack.

Nearly 270,000 people in San Diego County and many in Santee who rely on food stamps to keep their families fed saw their benefits cut by 5 percent on Friday.

In Santee, 1.4 percent of residents receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamp benefits and 7.1 percent are considered to be living under the poverty line, according to the 2011 American Community Survey.

Monthly benefits for a family of four dropped about $36, to $632 on Friday, a total cut of $5 billion. The benefits were raised by about $133 during the recession as part of stimulus, which expired Nov. 1.

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The average monthly benefit per person is $133.85, or less than $1.50 per person, per meal, according to SNAP. This means a family of four could lose funds for up to 24 meals each month.

Find out what's happening in Santeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jennifer Tracy, executive director of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, told KPBS that this drop in benefits will have a serious affect on local families already struggling.

"These benefits are calculated in a very old formula that doesn’t actually give people enough dollars to spend on food for the month," said Tracy.

"Most people’s benefits already run out at the second or third week of the month."

She said that food banks will have to pick up the slack for local families in need.

The Santee Food Bank is ready to do just that, but needs all the community support they can get.

"We are very concerned here at the Santee Food Bank," said Pastor Duane Flewelling, who is on the board of the food bank. 

"We heard about this coming down about a month ago and so we have been trying to expand our inventory so that we can continue to provide the same care that we have been even with the potential increase.  We have also been blessed recently with the support of two local churches (Pathways and Rise City Church) that have agreed to support the Santee Food Bank with food on a regular basis."

The number of locals that need the food bank's help is on the rise, with an average of 593 families served each month last year increasing to 687 families a month for the first half of 2013 (read more).

"Our biggest challenge right now is we need to find a new location for the food bank as we have run out of space and need to double the size of the food bank," said Flewelling.


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