Sonny has a list of medical conditions few people would envy. Her disabilities allow her $45 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. But despite the benefits and visiting local food pantries, she finds it difficult to pay all her bills at the end of each month and lives in constant fear that one day her electricity will be shut off. A little additional help through SNAP would make a big difference.
With underlying health conditions, Malka Fazlic is at high-risk should she be exposed to COVID-19. When she needs to visit the grocery store, she arrives prepared and limits her visits to 15 minutes at a time. She is unable to work due to the pandemic and benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) help her get by turning difficult times.
Kristyna Feyh is soon expecting the birth of her first child and will then soon become a single mother. With limited support, many would be nervous about there being enough food available in the home. But thanks to WIC benefits and assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Kristyna knows there will enough food available for her and her baby.
Jode and Roger Beuchene were living comfortably and enjoying their marriage. Then COVID-19 struck the region and they were “tossed like a salad,” Jodee said. Losing the majority of income from her karaoke business, the couple quickly began to struggle to put food on the table. See how a Great Plains Food Bank distribution of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program quickly made a difference in their lives.
Living on a fixed income consisting mostly of disability payments, Rexanne Block has needed to get creative to find ways of meeting her nutritional needs each month. And a crucially important piece to that puzzle is the SNAP benefits that she receives each month.
A U.S. Army veteran, 57-year-old Roberta Milford relies on SNAP benefits along with veteran disability assistance to sustain her way of life. Her grocery budget is just $60 and the $11 she receives each month through the SNAP program allows her two gallons of milk and a loaf of bread. Despite the benefits and being on a fixed income, she still struggles to make it to the end of each month.
Mary Rader is on her own following the death of her husband and now that her six children are grown. A Social Security check each month helps to pay some of her bills, but Mary counts on benefits from the SNAP program to supplement her grocery bill each month. If it weren’t for SNAP, Mary is uncertain what she would do.
Ricky Belgarde knows what is feels like to skip meals. Having spent the majority of his life on SNAP, the program has helped his family to survive growing up. Today, as disability prevents Ricky from working and driving, SNAP remains critically important for Ricky.
A 20-year retiree from the North Dakota Army National Guard, Steve Olson struggles to recall a time in his childhood when his family didn’t receive SNAP benefits. As he put it, they offered a hand-up, and allowed him a path to now owning his own consulting company.
Shirley Reese remembers the difficult times she and her family faced when they struggled expecting their sixth child and how vital their SNAP benefits became. Now the manager of a grocery store in Hazelton, Reese understands the difficult situation facing many of her customers on SNAP.
