Several initiatives have sprung up across the Monadnock Region to help people affected by the lapse of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding.
Last month, the federal government said it would stop funding SNAP on Saturday, Nov. 1, due to the ongoing government shutdown. On Monday, the Trump administration said it would partially fund the country’s largest anti-hunger program, the Associated Press reported. The move comes after two federal judges ruled the government must fund the program, although the AP reported Monday it was unclear how much recipients would receive.
About 76,000 Granite Staters are expected to be affected, according to a recent N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute report. The Concord-based organization predicts rural areas will be hit the hardest.
In the meantime, local businesses, nonprofits and restaurants have stepped up to hand out hot meals and set up sites for people to pick up non-perishable items.
Here’s a list of local resources:
Monadnock Food Co-op
The grocery store at 34 Cypress St. in Keene is expanding a program that helps people access healthy, local and organic food, according to its website.
Rather than the usual 10 percent discount on groceries for people who participate in the program, the co-op on Saturday doubled the Healthy Food For All markdown to 20 percent. The steeper discount will be temporary, according to its website.
To receive the discount, people must apply for the program via a form that can be downloaded online at mondadnockfood.coop/healthy-food-for-all or picked up at the store. Additionally, they must show a government-issued photo ID, plus either an unemployment or Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) award letter or reauthorization letter, or a letter of eligibility from a community partner organization.
Winchester ACCESS
In addition to continuing to provide dinner for kids participating in the K-8 after-school care program, Winchester ACCESS has started serving to-go dinners for the general public from 6-6:30 p.m. Meals can be picked up from the ELMM Community Center at 21 Durkee St.
According to the NHFPI report, Winchester has the largest proportion of residents of any municipality in the Monadnock Region who receive SNAP benefits, at 12.2 percent.
As of Monday morning, 74 people were signed up to pick up to-go dinners that night, all but one of them from Winchester, said Program Director Natalie Quevedo. People have signed up for the rest of the week, too, and she is expecting an average of 75 to 100 people per night.
In addition to the dinners, ACCESS will hold a pop-up food pantry in the ELMM Community Center on Sundays from 11 a.m. to noon.
People can register for the meal pickup and/or the food pantry at https://bit.ly/ACCESS-to-go-meal-signup so organizers know how much food to prepare.
Quevedo said she’s not sure how long ACCESS, a small nonprofit organization, can continue to do this, noting that this depends on donations from the community.
Quevedo said businesses are able to fund one night of meals by donating $200. Those interested in contributing can email her at MissNat@access-winchester.com.
People do not need to show proof of participation in SNAP for either initiative, Quevedo said.
Buba Street Noodle and Bar
The Keene restaurant at 44 Main St. has begun offering one free meal per person per day. People can order chicken noodle soup, chicken fried rice and free meals for kids by calling ahead for takeout, according to a Facebook post from the business. People must show their government ID or EBT card and matching identification “so we can make sure meals go where they’re needed most,” the business said in the post.
In a follow-up post, the restaurant announced that people wanting to help can contribute through a “pay-it-forward” program, in which making a $10 donation is the equivalent of providing one free meal. People can do this by telling a restaurant employee.
Birdies & 21 Bar and Grill
A colorful sign in the front window of Birdies on Main Street in Keene says, “Free food pantry, no questions asked, help yourself.” Next to it are shelves stocked with bread, canned soup, mac and cheese, and other nonperishable food items.
Additionally, the restaurant will make a free sandwich if somebody needs one; people should ask at the counter, co-owner Beth Wood said.
Those who come in for items do not need to show evidence of SNAP participation.
“We’ve had a good handful of people coming in” for the food pantry, Wood said Monday, noting that it has had to be restocked.
Wood said soon there will also be assistance at 21 Bar and Grill on Roxbury Street, which she and her husband also own. This week, she said, they will begin offering pre-made bags with nonperishable food items, available behind the window closest to Crabtree’s.
Even before the lapse in SNAP funding, the couple has given people meals free of charge.
“We’ve always had a philosophy between [Birdies and 21 Bar and Grill] — anyone that needs food, we’ll give them food,” Wood said.
“… If someone’s hungry, we’re going to feed them.”
MoCo Arts
The nonprofit arts organization at 40 Roxbury St. in Keene is handing out snack packs and small meals in its green room, according to a Facebook post.
Sullivan County Store
The Sullivan Country Store at 140 Route 9 in Sullivan has started a pay-it-forward program. People in need of a meal can take a card from a corkboard in the back of the store. Cards are added to the stack when customers pay for a meal or sandwich for this purpose during their stop at the shop.
The Drewsville General Store, at 78 Whitcomb Road in Walpole, offers a similar program, which served as the model for the Sullivan store’s.
Mobile food pantries
The state, in conjunction with the N.H. Food Bank, is setting up five mobile pantries for the month of November, one for each region of New Hampshire.
The Monadnock Region site, in partnership with The Community Kitchen, will be at the Keene Public Works Department at 350 Marlboro St., Keene, each Saturday this month from 9 a.m. to noon, according to a news release Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s office issued Monday. Only SNAP recipients are eligible for the program, and they must show their EBT card or a notice from the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services that confirms their participation in the SNAP program.
The news release notes locations could change, and updates will be issued on Mondays.
“DHHS and the Food Bank will assess demand weekly and make location decisions to target areas of greatest need,” the release states.
An additional site is planned this Wednesday in Claremont. A mobile food pantry will be set up at Runnings at 403 Washington St. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. Food box pickups are also being offered at the Claremont Food Pantry at 51 Central St. on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Know of a place helping people that’s not listed here? Email information to Elizabeth Underwood at eunderwood@keenesentinel.com
Sophia Keshmiri can be reached at 603-283-0725 or skeshmiri@keenesentinel.com.
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