Hunger stalks Sarah Rockwood’s family and soon she and her four teenagers may have to make do with less.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress temporarily boosted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 15%, but in March benefits will return to their pre-pandemic level.
Her only sources of income are Social Security and SNAP benefits, a program previously known as food stamps.
Rockwood, a 45-year-old disabled mother, is raising four teenagers alone in Springfield and is often short on food.
“Three are mine and then I have an extra. Until recently, I had two or three extra all the time. They are my children’s friends that have been thrown out of their homes. And I’ve actually taken custody of family members’ children.”
While Rockwood might be described as someone with a kind heart, she also has an unreliable one. She said she has had multiple heart attacks and breathing issues as well as pain in her hips and knees.
“I don’t get help with housing. I don’t get help with my utilities. That’s all I get. So, with SNAP benefits going down this month, I’m worried. I’m very worried. … What they give us now barely covers us for the month. I don’t know how I’m going to make it next month,” Rockwood said.
Maj. Jeff Eddy, corps officer for the Salvation Army in Springfield, said stories like Rockwood’s are all too common. He added his organization’s food pantry is being pushed to the limit.
“We allow families to come once every calendar month and about half of the families we see each month are ones we have never seen before. There is quite a bit of food insecurity out there,” he said.
Eddy said he is bracing for an increased demand on their services when SNAP benefits decline.
“As far as the food pantry has been concerned, it’s been such a rollercoaster since COVID. Food insecurity has been high. … I can only assume that this SNAP benefit reduction is going to cause more upheaval,” he said.
Rockwood said she receives help from several food pantries each month, but her disabilities make standing in line challenging.
“I have to have people help me with everything,” she said. “I can’t do it unless I have a walker and can sit. Unfortunately, I don’t have one right now. And I don’t have a portable oxygen machine.”
Eddy said an underlying reason for families having less food is escalating prices.
According to the USDA, food prices increased 10.6% from November 2021 to November 2022 and are projected to rise between 3.5% and 4.5% this year.
Oddly enough, inflation is actually reducing food benefits for many in the SNAP program.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Social Security is the predominant source of income for SNAP households.
The Social Security Administration adjusts benefits to keep up with inflation. As of January 2023, Social Security benefits increased 8.7% – the largest increase in 40 years, according to Forbes.
Since Social Security benefits are counted as income, it will reduce the SNAP benefits Social Security recipients qualify to receive.
“There are rising costs all over the place and shortages,” Eddy said. “All of those things affect all of us. They affect people in poverty in a different way because they’re already worried about where the next meal is going to come from.”
Scott Reeder, a staff writer for Illinois Times, can be reached at sreeder@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in The museum built on Native American burial mounds.
