While SNAP Benefits were in flux, numerous Bellingham businesses stepped up to support their community.
The federal government shut down from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, marking the longest shutdown in US history. As a result, SNAP was left without funding from Nov. 1 to 12.
Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson directed around $2.2 million per week to support Washington’s food banks in the wake of the shutdown. According to Governor Ferguson, almost 1 million people in Washington rely on the SNAP program.
On their Instagram, Hammerhead Coffee said they would offer a free biscuit and 12 ounce drip coffee while SNAP benefits are suspended, and they hosted a food drive throughout all of November. Cafe Blue also said on their Instagram they would donate 50% of their proceeds to the Bellingham Food Bank on Nov. 1.
El Sueñito Brewing Company encouraged people to donate directly to the local food banks, mainly Bellingham Food Bank and Foothills Food Bank. Kiersten Umbinetti-Hutton, the operations manager at El Sueñito, said if people donated directly to those organizations and emailed the receipts to El Suenito Brewing Company, they would receive 5% of their donations back in loyalty points and get money off of their meal.
“Feeding people has always been a core part of our mission,” Umbinetti-Hutton said.
Umbinetti-Hutton said that in an event they held on Nov. 10, where $2 per beer and other items were donated, they raised over $600 for the Bellingham Food Bank. She said, as far as donations that people have made directly to the food bank, they had raised over $800 and would continue the initiative through the end of November.
“We're really proud to be a part of this community in Bellingham and seeing a bunch of other businesses stepping up to raise funds as well has been really cool. Yeah, we're proud to be a part of a community that takes care of each other,” Umbinetti-Hutton said.
On Nov. 11, Julian & Company and Foundation Restoration held a food and clothing drive. Avenue Bread, Leaf & Ladle, Old World Deli and Ono Kitchen and Bar provided meals for the event. Julian Friedman, the founder of Julian & Company, said they served over 500 meals.
“It just seemed to me to be a good marriage of need, both from the people with food insecurity, but also restaurants who are struggling and they're doing really good work in our community,” Friedman said. “And an event like this is a great way for us to promote and highlight those businesses.”
According to Whatcom County, over 10,500 Whatcom County households and 92,000 individuals receive SNAP benefits.
“Some of the people that are contributing are not necessarily in complete abundance as far as how well business is going,” Friedman said. “So I think it's really imperative that Western students that can afford it go to some of these businesses and show support.”
Matt Shaver, the president of Foundation Restoration, added that Cafe Rumba dropped off cookies at the event and Kombucha Town dropped off beverages.
“It's important, I think, for Western students to also be involved in our local community and economy. They make an impact. Get involved. Come volunteer,” Shaver said.
Tina McKim, one of the founding steering committee members of the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters, said SNAP cuts especially affect low-wage workers, the elderly and disabled people.
“We know that LGBTQ people are often discriminated into lower-wage jobs, and we know it's the same with the BIPOC community,” said McKim. “There's a lot of discrimination that still keeps people in lower wages, that ends up impacting how much they're able to buy and how much they're able to support their families.”
McKim said, during this time, the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters put out calls to the community to keep the communal food boxes filled, and expanded the growing capacity at their mini farm to be able to grow more food to share.
“We're also doing a lot of advocacy to really make sure that we're keeping pressure on the government to use our tax dollars to take care of the people, and not on saving billionaires or saving billionaire businesses or foreign wars or genocides,” McKim said. “We want our money to really work for our community and create a world that's better for everyone, not just the ultra-rich.”
Adah Bassok (she/her) is a city news reporter for The Front this fall quarter. She was previously a campus life reporter for The Front, and she is a news and editorial journalism major at Western. Outside of the newsroom, you can find her reading and exploring the outdoors. You can reach her at adahbassok.thefront@gmail.com.
