ABOVE: Food pantries like Leelanau Christian Neighbors are bracing for a surge in demand if SNAP benefits pause.

In northwest Lower Michigan, Groundwork’s Food Equity Specialist, Christina Barkel, plays a central role in sourcing and distributing locally grown food for food pantries and meal sites throughout the region in her work with the Northwest Food Coalition. 

With SNAP benefits—commonly called food stamps—scheduled to pause November 1 due to the government shutdown, we asked Christina to help us understand what it means for our people and our food pantries when the food payments stop.

Who is likely to be most affected by the stop in food payments in Michigan?

Christina: Many families who receive SNAP benefits include elderly people, disabled people who can’t work, single parents, and children. These families will not have as much money to buy food starting November 1. This will lead to increases in the rates of food insecurity and everything that comes along with it—more pressure on food pantries and meal sites to provide help, increased distraction at school for hungry children, and worsening health outcomes for older adults who will have to choose between paying for food and medicine on a fixed income. 

Are food banks, pantries and meal sites able to cover the gap in resources?

Christina: Not entirely. SNAP is an essential program that feeds people in need efficiently, and the loss of those dollars for families puts a huge burden on food pantries that have already been stretched thin due to other federal funding cuts and rising costs in general. Our food pantries and meal sites have been reporting increases in usage and community need for months—pausing SNAP now will only worsen the crises that’s been increasing since the end of COVID-era relief programs. Philanthropy cannot cover this gap. 

What does this mean for our region’s farmers and grocers?

Christina: SNAP dollars are mostly spent at local grocery stores, retailers and farmers markets. 13,602 residents in the five-county region of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau currently receive $2,214,949 in food assistance each month. In November, that money will not be circulating in the local economy, which means our region’s small grocers and farmers will lose business. 

Where can people turn to for help now or to make donations?

Christina: In northwest Lower Michigan, we partner with the Northwest Food Coalition and Food Rescue, a program of Goodwill Northern Michigan, to provide healthy food to people in need via the Coalition’s network of 70 food pantries, meal sites, and baby pantries. 

• If you need immediate food assistance, call 2-1-1 or visit mi211.org or northwestmifoodcoalition.org to find a local pantry or meal site.
• To donate or volunteer, visit the Northwest Food Coalition website to find a list of local pantries nearest you or donate to the Coalition directly.

Christina Barkel, Food Equity Specialist
christina.barkel@groundworkcenter.org