By Michael Pineda
mpineda@cherryroad.com

The Food & Resource Center of South Central Oklahoma is joining other entities across the nation to meet demand as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program falls victim to the ongoing government shutdown.

The Department of Agriculture has announced that no benefits for SNAP will be issued starting Nov. 1, creating a demand for greater assistance.

“We have gotten phone calls, people are scared, now question about it,” Food & Resource Center Executive Director James Rosson said.

The center serves, on average, 1,700 families a month in Carter, Love, Johnston and Murray counties.

“We will run anywhere around 150,000 pounds a month,” Rosson said. “Approximately seven tractor trailer loads of food each month.”

That demand has spiked as Rosson believes up to 2,000 families will be served in October and at least 1,700 families in November despite it being a short month. He said Tuesday is typically a day when there are no comeback cards and no one is scheduled to shop. Yet the lobby and parking lot were full of people with a projection of 130 families served. Wednesday, there were 157 scheduled. That follows a busy week in which 106, 143, 150 and 158 families came over four days.

“I have seen more new applications go out, this fast, this morning than I ever have,” Rosson said. “It’s scary. If I am someone on food stamps and I, all of a sudden, aren’t getting them, and you depend on them for your family, that is a scary situation.”

Families can visit approximately once every 30 days. It is a shopping experience in which people take their grocery carts and go down aisles to select items for their families. Rosson said it helps because people are more likely to eat food, they select themselves. It also provides dignity, which is important for the center. As more people seek out sources of food such as the Food & Resource Center, every little bit helps in terms of ensuring there is enough to go around.

“The food bank is trying to store some emergency food and that is going to help us,” Rosson said. “We are worried about our quantities, but we are still going to give out a ton of food. Each family is still going to get $200 to $300 worth of groceries. Based on surveys we have done with our shoppers, food lasts a week and a half to two weeks, which is right where we are supposed to be.”

Rosson said the center is not part of a state organization. It is a private organization that is affiliated with the regional food bank. They have some local warehouses that help out such as Walmart, Aldis, Albertsons and Dollar General stores.

“We will get enough food, and I have visited with my board,” he said. “We are going to temporarily raise our food budget to the food bank itself so we can at least get some extra can goods, cereal and other staples.

“But even on this order already, my warehouse manager just showed me, there was some free stuff on there that normally we would pay for so that is a huge help. We are able to get some more stuff that way.”

The center is open 16 hours a week, which includes 2 to 6 p.m. on Monday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Friday. Holiday hours are also posted at https://feedingsouthcentralok.org or on the center’s Facebook page.

Rosson said it is relatively easy to register with the center. Adults need a picture ID. It can be out of state, expired, a marijuana card or CDIB card. It can be the paperwork when you get out of jail, which is city issued. It can be either paper ID or on the phone.

“We are very lenient on the ID,” Rosson said. “Picture ID for all the adults and proof of address. It has to be a physical address. Amazon shipping label, voter ID card, junk mail, a lease, again, we are pretty lenient on that as well.”

For minors, it can be a birth certificate, social security, copy of a report card or a copy of a doctor’s visit.

“We figure if you have the child with you, it is probably your child,” he said. “We try to make it easy.”

At this time, the center is also taking donations to help meet demand.

“We have been blessed,” Rosson said. “I just did a Facebook post, and I have gotten seven, they are not big donations, but it does not matter. For us, $1 provides the meal equivalent of three meals when we buy from the food bank. A $1 donation goes a long way.”

A donation can be made on the center’s website or, people can drop off a check or mail one in. People can also bring canned goods or perishables.

“We have an increased need, and we need the community’s help,” Rosson said. “It is going to be a community thing. Until the government opens up, this is going to be it.”