Financial challenges hit close to home

[38Packard]

This is not intended as a political post. The following paragraph appeared in our bi-monthly Town Report issued by the Town Manager with status updates from the various municipal departments. This paragraph is from the “Council on Aging” department report:

Town name redacted *

Today, * seniors and family households received their last federal COVID SNAP emergency allotment ($95-$200/month depending on household size). This vital pandemic-based benefit funded healthy fresh produce and shelf-stable foods to 371 senior households in town who receive an average SNAP benefit of ONLY $212/month. We are concerned. In order to support the senior community, the * COA partnered with (local grocery store) and now receives daily delivery of bread and other baked goods for seniors to take home at no charge. The COA also partnered with a local farmer’s market in East * to deliver food boxes filled with fresh fruits and vegetables each week to the senior center.

Seems like some hard times are going to be coming (continuing?) for some of our senior population. I’m sure there are not too many of us here that are reliant on SNAP and other food programs to survive. We have other problems that seem big to us.

Just putting this out there that seniors in our small NE town are in need, and I think we haven’t seen the worst of this yet.

'38Packard

[HohumYNWA]

During my college years, I remember one of my student groups would organize a food drive around Thanksgiving time. Since this was Western MA, there was some agriculture in the area. Usually, after the first few days of the drive, bags and sacks of local produce would typically arrive.

Though living in a city (Merced), the local area is similar to Western MA, but scaled up on the agricultural side. Here is an idea a local student started a few years ago – a community fridge.
People’s Fridge | Sustainability (ucmerced.edu)

Now in multiple cities in the area.