Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Social Care Network of Richmond County is providing meals and pantry boxes to approved Medicaid recipients worried about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit interruption. The pantry boxes, tailored to diet restrictions, contain enough food for seven days, said Dr. Joseph Conte, executive director of the Staten Island Performer Provider System, which coordinates the Social Care Network in support of residents through community-based organizations. The meals contain fresh foods, such as ground meat, salmon, vegetables, dried goods, tuna fish and beans, Conte said. “All good, hearty meals that are good for you,’' he said. The program, implemented in January, has screened over 35,000 people on Staten Island and is already serving more than 9,000 people with weekly meals, Conte said. “It’s an amazing opportunity for all our community partners,’' Conte said. ”It’s so gratifying to hear the stories they are telling that are so personal. People were hungry, they could not feed their families. They can also help them with housing, past-due utilities. Over 1,000 people have gotten housing support, paid-back utilities, and paid-back rent so they don’t get evicted from their homes." An official with the Agriculture Department told a federal court Wednesday that allotments to SNAP beneficiaries for November will be 65% of their normal rate instead of the 50% previously estimated by the Trump administration, according to NBC News. Initial plans called for a stop to the SNAP program altogether during the continuing government shutdown. That revised figure means a family of four in the lower 48 states will receive about $646 for the month, according to the news outlet. Determined eligible Those in need of food must complete an online or a 10-minute telephone survey to determine their eligibility, Conte said. Those who are participants in Medicaid Managed Care will be served by the program, while those on regular Medicaid will be directed to one of the resource pantries participating in the 80-member network, Conte said. The food can be delivered to a person’s home, or may be provided through refrigerated food lockers in Stapleton and West Brighton. Under the New York Health Equity Reform program, all 177,000 Medicaid members on Staten Island are eligible to be screened for food insecurity, housing, employment, training and transportation gaps in their social needs, said Conte, whose network includes area hospitals, churches, food banks and service organizations serving homeless and immigrant populations throughout Staten Island. The Social Care Network of Richmond County was formed to connect Staten Islanders who rely on Medicaid funding to reliable social care resources within the borough, with a goal of improving the often overlooked non-medical factors that impact health. The survey is available at the network website, statenislandpps.org/#, or residents can call (917) 830-1140 to find out about their eligibility. At this time on Staten Island, 3,000 families are receiving housing support, like utility assistance, rental support to prevent eviction, financial support to find new housing from the Social Care Network, Conte told the Advance/SILive.com. And in instances where asthma is present they can receive services to eliminate the cause (triggers) of asthma attacks, he said.
