CLEVELAND, Ohio — If federal SNAP benefits aren’t restored soon, thousands more Cuyahoga County residents may turn to food pantries, food banks and hot meal sites to fill the gap, but officials say those resources are already stretched to their limits and cannot fully meet the need.
Hunger Network CEO Julie Johnson said organizations like hers and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank were already challenged by federal cuts to funding and food supplies earlier this year, amid rising demand. The food bank lost nearly 2 million pounds in food deliveries, and the Hunger Network almost had to close 17 hot meal sites after a cut in funding, before County Council stepped in to save them.
Now, the organizations are bracing for even greater strains, if 190,000 residents lose their monthly grocery benefits beginning Nov. 1. It’s presumed more of those residents will turn to food banks and pantries to fill in the gap, which could force agencies to either turn away hungry families or further ration their supplies…