Copyright Newsweek
Some Americans are urging houses to provide free food instead of candy this Halloween as SNAP benefits remain in jeopardy for the month of November. In a recent video posted on Instagram by user @heysleepybaby, Rachael Shepard-Ohta showed herself collecting several healthy snacks in a Halloween candy bowl. Text overlaid on the clip said: “POV getting the trick-or-treat bowl ready and you know 1 in 4 children receive SNAP benefits that are ending on November 1st.” Why It Matters About 42 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help pay for food every month. The payments help low-income individuals and families buy food at their local grocery stores with an EBT card that can be used on qualifying items. Because of the government shutdown that began on October 1, many recipients across the country could lose their benefits in the month of November. What To Know Social media users are encouraging others to prioritize offering food staples and snacks to children trick-or-treating on Halloween instead of candy as their food assistance could be restricted. “1 in 4 children in the United States are on SNAP benefits (about 39 percent of all SNAP participants),” Shepard-Ohta wrote. To help local community members who may be worrying where their next meal will come from, she urged others to consider adding these items to their trick-or-treat bowls: cheese sticks; fruits, such as mandarins, apples or bananas; packs of ramen; Pop-Tarts; packs of microwavable mac and cheese; applesauce; fruit cups; smoothie pouches; prepackaged snacks, including pretzels, granola or fruit bars; individual packs of crackers; oatmeal or cereal cups; protein bars; microwavable popcorn; jerky or meat sticks; and trail mix packs. “Many of these items are even cheaper than Halloween Candy, and kids LOVE novelty, so everyone wins!” she wrote in the video’s caption. Instagrammer @ChristinaLorey posted an infographic about the best type of shelf-stable foods to include in your trick-or-treat bowl for children who may be affected by the SNAP cutoff. Her ideas for the bowl included ramen cups, protein bars, chips, pretzels, microwavable mac and cheese, snack pudding packs and mini muffins. “The beauty in this ugly situation is that there are glimpses of humanity, with people looking for ways to help their neighbors who won’t be receiving SNAP benefits in November,” Tashara Leak, a registered dietitian and associate professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell, told Newsweek. “People want to show up for their communities as evident by the call to action for food to be given out this Halloween instead of candy.” Neighborhoods are getting involved in the fight to end child hunger even as Congress remains at a standstill over the impending finance bill. “I think people really want to raise awareness and identify a practical strategy where they can help their neighbors in need,” Angela Odoms-Young, a professor of maternal and child nutrition at Cornell, told Newsweek. “This is particularly relevant when it comes to child hunger.” Odoms-Young encouraged Americans to also work through their local community organizations—such as churches, synagogues and mosques—which regularly help distribute food or money to their local food pantries. “Those organizations are working and advocating for SNAP to be restored and also distributing food and meals to families,” Odoms-Young said. What People Are Saying Angela Odoms-Young, a professor of maternal and child nutrition at Cornell, told Newsweek: “Community-based charitable food organizations can’t replace the help Americans receive through SNAP. SNAP is our nation’s most important anti-hunger tool. For every meal provided by the Feeding America network of food banks, SNAP provides the equivalent of nine meals. This is going to make it extremely challenging for families.” Tashara Leak, a registered dietitian and associate professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell, told Newsweek: “A suspension to SNAP benefits is unprecedented, and the short- and long-term impacts on Americans is yet to be seen. The timing of the suspension of SNAP benefits could not be worse, as we approach the holiday season. Children who may normally get free or reduced school lunch will be home as a result of holiday school closures. With more mouths to feed and fewer resources, the suspension of SNAP benefits will be devastating for millions of families.” Dale Sutherland, the founder of the nonprofit Boost Others, told Newsweek: “People are wisely concerned about the bigger needs of the family. Families that are dependent on SNAP do not have enough resources on their own to purchase basic grocery staples and other life necessities. Candy is fun, but food fills a need. If you have the ability to donate food staples, it would meet a need, not just a fun holiday want.” He added: “Obviously, families that can hand out both food and candy are even more of a blessing to others. Kids don’t know anything about SNAP, and I would hate that the poorer children in our community end up at school with no candy when the children with resources bring in bags of candy. That would be very sad as well.” What Happens Next Both children and the elderly alike will be hard hit by a loss of SNAP benefits in November, experts say. “In the short term, this may mean that a child or senior is going to go without food for the month. It might affect a child or college student’s ability to learn or a person’s ability to be productive at work because they’re experiencing hunger,” Odoms-Young said. She added: “In the long-term, this could also impact both families and retailers where SNAP is redeemed because they will lose business. This problem is not only going to impact the families that receive SNAP but also the food retail environment overall, particularly in small and rural communities that may have fewer retailers.”
