Nome grapples with first week of SNAP payment delay

Kawerak and the Nome Community Center sprang into action earlier this week to cover the gap imposed by the delay in SNAP benefit payments this month. The monthslong government shutdown resulted in a lapse in funding from the federal government to issue SNAP benefits on November 1.
In Nome, volunteers moved Monday night in a coordinated scramble around the XYZ Senior Center, filling and distributing boxes of goods. They plan to issue food aid again Wednesday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the XYZ Senior Center.
Nome Community Center Executive Director Center Kimberly Bishop said that while the Food Bank will still be operating during its normal hours, it isn’t really intended to supply a week’s worth of food to people and is instead a supplemental option. “We wanted to make sure that nobody went hungry,” said Bishop.
Bishop said that the food aid boxes are not limited to those with SNAP cards.
“If people need food, we want them to come and get it,” she said.
Kawerak tapped into a rainy-day emergency fund to cover the gap left by the delay in SNAP benefits with a one time contribution. They used $311,340 to fund the food boxes handed out at the Nome Community Center and to issue funds to tribes on Tuesday that will cover one week of food. That number was calculated by dividing the amount issued in SNAP benefits in the Nome Census Area each month and dividing by four to calculate what was needed to cover this first week of missed SNAP benefits.
The food aid boxes being distributed are intended to supply a week’s worth of food, and even though SNAP benefits may be available this week, people are still going without right now. The state of Alaska intervened and Governor Dunleavy issued a state disaster declaration on Monday. This allows for distribution of state disaster relief funds. The state will provide up to $5 million a week to SNAP eligible Alaskans and up to $10 million in funding to food banks.
Kawerak Outreach Director Danielle Sems said that while SNAP benefits may be distributed soon, they wanted to make sure that people are still able to eat this week. She said that the money used pushed their funds to its limits, but it was important to them that people had access to food.
“We didn’t want people to be stressing about eating this week,” she said. “This has kind of maxed us out, this coverage.”
She encouraged other local organization to step up and help with food aid efforts. 
Food aid boxes will be distributed Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the XYZ Senior Center. Recipients do not need to be a tribal member or provide proof of being a SNAP beneficiary to qualify. The Nome Eskimo Community bus service will be available from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. day of and can be reached at 907-434-0781. 
A judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to begin distribution of SNAP this week. The administration has indicated they will pay out partial benefits, but it remains unclear when those federal benefits will be paid out.
The state will work with the contractor responsible for loading EBT cards on a weekly schedule. SNAP benefits are released monthly. The Alaska Department of Health, which oversees the division that releases SNAP benefits, will work with food banks to ensure that resources are available. According to the health department, it is likely funds will be distributed this week. 
The governor’s disaster declaration will last up to 30 days, or as soon as the federal government shutdown ends.
In a letter to the legislators, Dunleavy indicated that state disaster relief funds are not enough to cover the cost. Instead, $10 million will be transferred from the Village Safe Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Projects fund.
Bishop said in an email that the Nome Food Bank has begun to see an increased number of clients the last few years as the cost-of-living climbs. They expect to see an increase in visits due to SNAP benefits being cut. Bishop said that the food bank was never meant to be the sole food aid for people, but as more of a supplement to bridge the gap.
“Nome Community Center will obviously do everything we can to help support people during this time, but this will require community support, too,” she wrote. “Additional food donations and volunteers would go a long way in helping us!”
Additionally, Kawerak offers welfare assistance for tribal members who are waiting on updates from the public assistance office, which administers SNAP benefits. President and CEO of Kawerak Melanie Bahnke, said via email that the program is an option for members, but that it’s intended to be a last resort. Kawerak has already gone over budget on the program this year.
“We’ve already exceeded this year’s Tribal Welfare Assistance budget by 1/3 because we stepped in to provide assistance when the State of Alaska fell behind processing applications and recertifications this year,” she said.
With no end in sight of the government shutdown and the potential delay of SNAP benefits as well as the recent Halong disaster in Western Alaska, food aid sources could soon be stretched thin. SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget.
Mike Jones at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at University of Alaska at Anchorage said he’s worried about the impact both on food banks and on people who rely on SNAP.
“The demand for food aid if SNAP falls through, I think it will be significant,” he said. “It makes me really nervous for people.”
In the Nome Census Area during the financial year 2024, 862 families received monthly SNAP benefits. Mike Jones explained that Alaskans and Hawaiians have higher maximum SNAP benefits than the Lower 48 because the cost of food and living is higher here. Alaskans who receive SNAP benefits fall into three categories based on how close their communities are to the major shipping system. In Nome, categorized as “Rural 2”, SNAP recipients can receive a maximum benefit that is double the amount received in the Lower 48.
Rural 2 communities range from hub cities like Nome, Kotzebue and Utqiagvik to small communities like Gambell and Diomede. Jones said in an email Monday that if SNAP recipients in rural communities receive less than the full amount, rural stores would be affected by a loss in sales. Additionally, without SNAP payments, families will have to pick between paying their grocery bill or their utility bill.
“Families will have to choose whether to use cash for critical food, utilities, or housing costs,” he wrote. “Many families will likely get behind on utility or rent payments while they try to ensure food access.”
Jones warns that the loss of SNAP benefits will also have effects on the local, state, and national economy. A 2019 report from the USDA Economic Research Service indicates that for every $1 of SNAP benefits, $1.54 is generated in economic impact. People who receive SNAP benefits usually spend them soon after they get them, which returns that money back into circulation in the economy. While these are national numbers, Jones said that because rural Alaskans receive more in SNAP benefits, their impact on their local economy can be even greater. If that money isn’t circulating like it normally is, stores that rely on SNAP recipients shopping at them will feel the impact. Jones said that small villages with high SNAP rates will likely feel the economic impact the most.
“The removal of those snap dollars is a really, really big deal for local economic impacts. This compounds increased food insecurity and the very real human impact,” Jones said in a Monday email.
The other issue facing rural communities in the Bering Strait and the rest of Bush Alaska is that food can spoil before it reaches them. food must be flown in. When FAA weather stations at smaller airports are down or not reporting, planes can’t always fly in. When there’s bad weather, flights may be grounded and fresh food items can spoil.