The federal government shutdown continues into day 37, the longest in United States history.

The shutdown combined with the state budget impasse has led to some funding uncertainty with snap benefits, but on the local level, Erie County government is looking to help.

How to find food if your SNAP benefits are cut off

This week, Erie County Executive Brenton Davis announced an emergency supplemental appropriation of $1 million to the Northwest PA Second Harvest Food Bank to help address food insecurity in our community.

“These budget impasses have a major effect right here in our community. Erie County we’re taking a little bit of a different approach. What I would call this now is a time for compassion, but it’s also a time for accountability,” said Brenton Davis, Erie County Executive.

On Monday, Davis sent the appropriation to Erie County Council, who will decide how to move forward with the money.

The Second Harvest Food Bank’s CEO said one in seven people in Erie County are food insecure, and they had already seen an increase in people they serve before the SNAP funding emergency.

“We are already in a crisis, and now the crisis has grown,” said Greg Hall, Second Harvest Food Bank CEO. “The state budget impasse, the federal shutdown, they’ve truly created an unprecedented time. SNAP has never been not funded.”

Now, the appropriation heads to county council, and one council member said it’s important to move fast to make sure no one in the community goes without food.

“We’re all going to get behind this, we just have to hash out how it works,” said Chris Drexel, Erie County Councilman. “Second Harvest, we had a meeting with them, and we talked about the food distribution would work throughout the county. They work with 11 counties actually that surround us.”

Drexel said they will pull the million dollars from the county fund balance in some way, shape or form, and they also want to make sure other food distribution services not directly connected with Second Harvest are also served.

LIST: Organizations offering food assistance amid SNAP suspension

As of now, he said they don’t have an ordinance written yet but is pushing to get one on the next agenda at Thursday’s council meeting.

If you or someone you know is facing food insecurity, a list of local food banks, churches and other organizations offering help can be found on our website here.

If you would like to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank to help their cause, you can head to their website here.

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