Levine Cava rallies food bank partners, urges community donations ahead of November SNAP funding cut off – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
MIAMI (WSVN) – Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava rallied food bank partners and urged the community to donate food and other items ahead of a federal funding deadline for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
At an event in Miami, Levine Cava addressed the impact of food stamps benefits being cut off starting Nov. 1 on half a million Miami-Dade residents across the area, especially the elderly and low-income families.
“Nearly one-in-four of our households in Miami-Dade County that depend upon SNAP,” she said.
The county mayor was joined by local nonprofit organizations such as Feeding South Florida and Farm Share.
Farm Share CEO Stephen Shelley said the current situation is already dire as food banks try to feed federal workers who have gone unpaid due to the ongoing government shutdown, which has now lasted for nearly a month.
“Things are already dire. You got a government shutdown, you got federal workers who don’t have access to food, and we, as food banks, are trying to meet that need already, and we are struggling,” he said.
Feeding South Florida’s Paco Velez talked about how losing this funding will impact people as well as Florida’s economy.
“SNAP benefits are the first line of defense against hunger, and if we lose those benefits, not only will families go hungry, but more than $5 to $6 billion in revenue a year comes to Florida through SNAP benefits, which are going to affect our grocery stores, retail stores, and convenience stores,” said Velez.
Levine Cava outlined an emergency food distribution plan in collaboration with these nonprofit organizations and asked residents to pitch in if they can.
“To all our residents who are able, we ask that you donate what you can. We are going to coordinate, to make sure that there’s a one-stop place for information where people can go to get the help or to give the help,” she said.
She added that despite the bickering in Washington over the shutdown, Miami-Dade is stepping up.
“These are our children, families, grandparents, neighbors, workforce, and we need everybody to step up and treat this as the true emergency that it is,” said Levine Cava.
Up north in Broward, Meals on Wheels officials say they’ve already seen a spike in applications from homebound seniors this week.
“They don’t have to go to sleep at night hungry. That’s why we’re here,” said Wendy Bourgault with Meals on Wheels South Florida. “We know that there are people out there that are just barely hanging on.”
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