Following federal cuts to SNAP benefits last fall, food pantries in the High Country are continuing to see high numbers of clients.
The Hunger and Health Coalition is a free food pantry, pharmacy, and health clinic in Boone. Shortly before the federal changes went into effect, workers there collected data to find out how many of their clients were receiving SNAP benefits.
Director of Marketing and Communications Kayla Lasure says it was about a quarter of the thousands of households they serve in Watauga, Ashe, Caldwell and Avery counties.
"So, then we were having to do the math of like, okay, if every person that did not get SNAP benefits needed to come here for food, how much would we need to increase our budget?" she says. "The data was telling us that we would have to increase our budget over 100%."
Lasure says over the past three months, they’ve served more clients than they did following Helene. She says they’re currently conducting surveys to determine the exact role SNAP cuts have played in the spike.