Pressure on Kansas food banks is rising. We need elected leaders woke to constituent needs
This past year, 3,717 people in St. Marys, Kansas, received food benefit from their local food bank.
Their former mayor — and now Kansas state legislator — Francis Awerkamp recently admitted that he had lived in St. Marys all of his life and had no idea his community had a food bank. More than 2,000 children last year received nutrition assistance from the St. Marys food bank.
Last month, Awerkamp led an effort in the Kansas House, passing House Bill 2094 over Gov. Laura Kelly's veto. The bill increases restrictions of accessibility to federally funded nutrition assistance programs. HB 2094 was passed in the super-majority Republican Kansas House, despite letters from Harvesters, the St. Marys food pantry and 159 other organizations arguing the legislation will further increase food insecurity when it goes into effect July 1.
The bill increases restrictions, especially on older persons qualifying for the Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Kansas was already among the nation’s most restrictive states in terms of SNAP eligibility, according to reports from the agriculture department.
In 2019, the year for which the most recent statistics were available, Kansas was ranked 48th in terms of access to food assistance. And yet, 1 person out of every 10 in Shawnee County (17,800 individuals) are food insecure, according to 2021 records of the Kansas Health Institute.
And here in Kansas, we are not even using all the federal money that is allocated to our state for addressing food insecurity! SNAP funding allocated to Kansas but not appropriated has been either diverted to other state initiatives or gone unspent.
Doorstep Inc. in Topeka is here to help, but the needs keep growing.
In 2022, Doorstep through its 52 communities of faith, assisted 6,568 people (an increase of 17% over prepandemic 2019) with food, clothing or rent assistance (and much more).
Dozens of volunteers come through our doors every week — some every day of the week — to serve in our food room, clothing room or wherever they are needed to help meet those who are facing limited resources to take care of basic personal/family needs.
Some of our Kansas legislators who are cutting services to those most in need may not know about food banks in St. Marys and dozens of other communities throughout the state, but we do.
And we care. And we invite Rep. Awerkamp and any other Kansas legislator to come take a tour. Let us show you how we are reaching out.
Let’s say thanks to St, Marys Food Bank volunteers and contributors. Thanks to the Jackson County AMA food bank housed at the 1st Christian Church of Holton, and thanks to Doorstep contributors and volunteers and to so many, many others.
Thank you, volunteers. You rock.
We need to be electing policy makers who are “woke” to the needs of those at their doorsteps.
The Rev. Jim McCollough is the congregation coordinator at Doorstep Inc., which provides short-term emergency aid to individuals in need and information on services to promote long-term self-sufficiency.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Pressure on Kansas food banks is rising; leaders must understand need
