HANNIBAL (WGEM) – Missouri governor Mike Kehoe recently announced the state of Missouri has submitted a waiver request to alter Missouri’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to support the purchase of healthy foods.
This year, the Salvation Army in Hannibal has seen an uptick in families needing help from their food pantry. Amanda Bowen, Salvation Army family case worker, said she hopes the governor’s new plan to make healthy foods more accessible helps families and lowers the number of those in need.
However, Bowen said with the current cuts happening to SNAP, she is worried there won’t be enough funding.
“You know, anything helps because our health right now in this day and age, and it’s getting worse, with obesity and things of that nature,” Bowen said. “But we have had so many cuts with our Medicaid, Medicare, and our SNAP benefits and now they’re making more restrictions on what it is that people can utilize the benefits they do have for that.”
Since the 22-23 year, Bowen said the number of families coming to the Salvation Army pantry has increased by over 500.
Despite the cost of healthy foods, Bowen said there are things families can do to keep their costs low, while still eating healthy.
“The best suggestion that I can do is try to cook as much as possible from home,” Bowen said. “There are a lot of really good recipes and if anyone needs them come by and see me, I get them frequently. But, you know, just trying to do as much as you can at home to stretch your dollars right now is everything.”
Bowen said families in need can also access the Double Up Food Bucks program which allows them to get double the fruit and vegetables at farmers markets when they use their SNAP benefits.
Bowen said the MU extension also has a program where families can get recipes to help them stay healthy.
Some other local organizations who offer a variety of help for those in need include: Mark Twain Behavioral Health, Hannibal Lions Club, Palmyra Food Pantry, Harvest Outreach, BGMA Hope Center, Mission 180 and Douglass Community Services.
Additional details on Governor Kehoe’s waiver request can be found here.
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