BLOOMINGTON, IN — Food banks and pantries in Monroe County are bracing for another hard year as more households turn to emergency food help while federal and state changes shrink access to SNAP and Medicaid. Leaders from Bloomington-area pantries say demand has risen steadily as grocery prices, wages and public benefits have moved in opposite directions.
Several local organizations are already seeing their busiest pace yet. Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which serves Monroe County and five other Southern Indiana counties, said partner agencies reported serving 11% more households per month from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year. Forty percent of those agencies also said the number of households they serve is still climbing.
How new SNAP work rules are changing eligibility in Indiana
One major driver is the SNAP overhaul that took effect in Indiana on Feb. 1. Adults ages 55 through 64 who previously were exempt from work requirements are now subject to the rule, along with parents of children ages 14 to 17 and people without housing. To keep benefits, those groups must now meet the program’s 80-hour-per-month work standard.
Immigrants in certain categories, including refugees and asylum seekers, are also no longer eligible for SNAP under the new rules. Hoosier Hills Executive Director Julio Alonso said those changes are helping push more people toward local food assistance, especially as families lose the cushion that food benefits once provided…