Governor declares state of emergency; orders funds to food bank network

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday that a federal judge had ruled in favor of Kentucky, 24 other states and the District of Columbia and demanded that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding be restored. To ensure Kentuckians have access to food over the next few days, the governor also signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency and directing an initial $5 million from the budget reserve trust fund to Feeding Kentucky food banks.

Reached by the Advocate Monday morning, Rebecca Cooley, the Sterling Community Food Coalition pantry coordinator, said she had not yet received word on how that funding would be allocated or when. 

She said what she could share is that as for the weekly pantry report, numbers were up even from those printed in the Advocate last week as far as usage.

For the week of October. 27-31, the pantry served 229 households, representing a total of 476 household members.
Thirty new households visited the pantry for the first time (or for the first time in over a year), representing 77 individuals.
Seventy-one households visited twice during the week, representing 147 household members.
In total, the pantry recorded 300 visits for the week, serving 623 household members across those visits.

"We want to share these numbers to help our community understand the reach and impact of our pantry each week. We would also like to thank everyone in the community that has stepped up and has started bringing in donations to help keep our pantry stocked, the financial donations coming in and also those who are helping us to be able to make up Thanksgiving boxes for some of our neighbors. We know we won't be able to provide them to everyone as some will receive from other organizations, but we will do our best to serve as many as possible. So again, thank you all for stepping up to help," Pantry shared on social media.

The Advocate also reported last week that the Montgomery County Child Welfare Committee had met and is partnering with the food coalition by accepting donations. Those donations will be taken to the food pantry.

Shelf-stable/non-perishable items will be accepted through Nov. 24. The drop-off location is the Montgomery County Health and Civic Center (health dept. clinic) Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

When reached by the Advocate Monday, the comittee noted nothing has changed as far its collection either.

Friday in Massachusetts, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the decision to suspend SNAP benefits was likely illegal and ordered the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to decide if it will release contingency funding in whole or in part for the program. Additionally, in a separate ruling in a different case in Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to distribute the contingency funding for the SNAP program “as soon as possible.”

In preparation of any delays for the restoration of benefits, Gov. Beshear signed an executive order to direct an initial $5 million from the budget reserve trust fund to Feeding Kentucky food banks. In his executive order, the Governor directs the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management to “work with the Office of the State Budget Director to identify, allocate, and transfer funds as necessary from available sources to support the food banks during the lapse of SNAP funding,” beginning with $5 million from the budget reserve trust fund. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is then instructed to provide the identified funds to Feeding Kentucky.

Feeding Kentucky has a network of seven food banks that provide food and groceries to Kentuckians facing hunger in all 120 counties. Through more than 900 partner food pantries and meal programs, the organization reaches an estimated 1 in 7 Kentuckians each year. Feeding Kentucky focuses on addressing child hunger, sourcing food from Kentucky farmers, and advocating for policies that reflect the needs of Kentuckians.

In addition to this step and the lawsuit, Gov. Beshear has also directed more than $12 million in state funds during the month of November to temporarily support the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Team Kentucky will also host a food drive, accepting non-perishable food at main state office buildings in Frankfort and at the L&N Building in Louisville. Donated items will be distributed throughout the state via Dare to Care, God’s Pantry and the Christian Appalachian Project.  

In Kentucky, SNAP recipients can continue using current benefits as normal. For updates, Kentuckians can visit the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) website or their Self-Service Portal (SSP) account. Official DCBS notifications, text messages and emails will also be shared with news as available.