The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has halted the funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) until the end of the current government shutdown, meaning benefits will not be distributed for the month of November. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, around 1.4 million Michiganders receive benefits from the program. There have been lawsuits from multiple states challenging the lawfulness of restricting benefits despite an emergency fund being available, but the outcome of these federal rulings is still unclear.
Michigan Tech has its own program for getting food to those in the community who have a need, by way of the Husky Food Access Network, or HuskyFAN, that distributes food both at the pantry in Fisher Hall and through emergency meal packs that are available at the Public Safety Building. Food aid services are available to the community as well as students and staff at MTU, and although the hours are limited during breaks, they host “pop-up pantries” in the library for those in need.
The HuskyFAN system is entirely donation-based and will still be open and operating throughout November despite the SNAP program losing authorization to distribute funds for the month. Students and community members who can no longer use WIC and EBT cards at local businesses will still be able to receive aid through the usual pantry services. When asked how the closure will affect the pantry, Tiffany Jaeger, the Manager of Student Outreach & Retention with the Dean of Students’ office, said, “We intend to run operations as usual. We have had a noticeable increase in demand each semester, and have been able to keep up with student needs so far.”
As federal food aid services are in this ambiguous state, donations of both physical food and volunteer time are much appreciated and possibly increasingly necessary. To incentivize people throughout November, students can have their parking tickets forgiven in exchange for donations. HuskyFAN served roughly 600 people between the months of September and October through their partnership with Feeding America and the volunteer workers who donate their time to run the pantry each week.
Gabriel Belanger, the Student Outreach Coordinator, while working at the desk, described the sign-up process as simple and straightforward. For those interested, email huskyfan@mtu.edu to get in contact, and after brief training, hours of availability can be chosen. “We try to be open as much as we can, but it’s based fully on volunteer availability,” said Belanger, “Feel free to reach out. If you have anything to donate, anything that’s not expired, we appreciate it. Help out anyway you can or just say hi!”
