With Oregon’s COVID SNAP benefits set to end, C.O. food banks scramble to meet already surging demand

(Update: Adding video, comments from local food banks)

BEND, Ore (KTVZ) -- As the COVID-19 emergency declaration is set to come to an end on May 11 nationally, as directed by President Biden, one aspect of food assistance related to the pandemic is set to expire in Oregon at the end of February.

Central Oregon food banks such as The Giving Plate and NeighborImpact are gearing up for another surge in people needing food and help. Both organizations have been raising funds and are building or renovating new, larger warehouses to meet the growing demand.

Since the start of the pandemic, families in Oregon with limited income have been eligible for increased SNAP benefits, to be able to purchase food. The average monthly SNAP benefit per home was $201 in 2018, increasing to $237 in 2022.

The extra benefits were used at local food pantries such as The Giving Plate. With fewer food stamps to cover expenses, food banks like NeighborImpact expect a higher need for free food at the end of February.

NeighborImpact Food Director Carly Auten said, "While the SNAP benefit expiration hasn't happened just yet, we are already seeing that it's affecting our clients."

"The increase is already happening, so we have had a couple of agencies reporting double the amount of people coming through the lines," she said. "We have an agency that has had to double the amount of food that they order from our warehouse. So right now, as the month rolls through, anywhere from a 20 to 50 percent increase." 

The number of individuals NeighborImpact serves in Central Oregon has increased nearly 33 percent since 2019.

"Pre-Covid pandemic, our service numbers throughout Central Oregon were roughly around 42,000. Now, between our mobile partners and agencies that we provide food for, we are seeing 60,000 individuals on a monthly basis coming to an emergency food distribution," Auten explained.

At The Giving Plate, they've had to cut back on the amount of food they give to individuals, the first time they've had to do so in eight years.

"In 2021, we were allowed to give up to 30 pounds of food per person on average, which is about 7 to 8 days of food on average," Executive Director Ranae Staley said. "And we've had to scale back to 20 pounds a person. We still saw an increase in January in how many families were serving in our grocery program alone, compared to last January."

The 20 pounds of food is given out twice a month, but that's only enough to last a normal person 10 days on average, according to Precision Nutrition. With the demand for food increasing, as well as inflation-driven prices, NeighborImpact has a grim outlook for the months to come.

Since April of 2020, Oregon residents have been receiving extra SNAP benefits to help purchase food. At month's end, people relying on those benefits will revert back to their former amount of monthly benefits for the first time in nearly three years.

Auten said she's concerned about what may happen after the added benefits expire.

"I am worried, because of all the safety net programs expiring, food purchasing dollars expiring, our USDA food that we rely on staying flat, donated channels decreasing," she said.

NeighborImpact says more than 200 households came over a 90-minute time frame during one of its food drives last week.