SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — A local nonprofit is expanding one of its programs to provide food to those who have received partial, delayed food stamps payments for November, due to the government shutdown.
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Feast Down East — which works to bring locally grown food from regional farmers to area consumers — will give $50 in free local food to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients. The offer has been funded by the Anonymous Trust and Emergency Support from the Blue Cross, Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. The food can be shopped for through Feast Down East’s Local Motive Mobile Farmers’ Market.
“SNAP is such a vital resource for people facing food insecurity, especially in times of inflation, like today,” Susannah Spratt, the Mobile Market manager, said in a release. “Since the Feast Down East Mobile Market buys directly from local farms, SNAP funds not only help feed families, but also support our hard working farmers. With additional support from our partners, we could continue to provide SNAP customers with fresh, healthy, locally-grown food that they otherwise may have gone without due to these devastating cuts.”
SNAP customers only need to show their EBT card at the Local Motive Market to receive the $50 in free local produce. There is no minimum spending required.
According to Feast Down East, in 2024 around 21% of its Mobile Market customers used the federal program’s benefits.
SNAP was not fully funded in November after the USDA claimed not to have the money due to the government shutdown. However, it had $5 billion in contingency funding to pay for the program, but refused to, saying it was reserved for natural disasters only. The decision was challenged in court and ruled by two judges for the department to use the funds. Payments were delayed for November, but over the weekend began to be loaded onto EBT cards in North Carolina; the program helps around 1.4 million statewide.
Feast Down East has contributed $2 million in community impact, including moving almost 250,000 pounds of local food throughout the region with almost $400,000 going to area farmers to support locally grown food. Learn more about Feast Down East here.
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