Food Access Alliance makes it a SNAP
New nonprofit works to provide food assistance to those in need
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It was just cold enough for a jacket on Oct. 10. No one’s breath was visible, but it was just enough to remind a person that winter is marching toward Kokomo. There are very cold days ahead.
And in the parking lot of Grace United Methodist Church, a handful of people lined up behind the Food4Souls food truck. The smell of hot soup and promise of a cup of coffee attracted quite a few as they attended a SNAP enrollment event organized by the Howard County Food Access Alliance (HCFAA).
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the state of Indiana’s “food stamp” program, providing funding for food for those who qualify. According to Allison Norman, MPA, Director of Food Access Initiatives for the HCFAA, not everyone who qualifies for SNAP has applied for assistance. As winter approaches, she, the organization, and their partners want to ensure everyone who needs aid receives it.
“In Howard County, we have a population of people who qualify for SNAP but are not currently enrolled,” said Norman. “One of our objectives is to make sure that people do get enrolled so that they're able to access food from the grocery store and support themselves and their families.
“We're partnered with Food Finders Food Bank and their SNAP coordinators to get people signed up. They're filling out a referral form with some basic information to help let people know whether they qualify or if they've got a good chance of qualifying. And then they take that information back and they walk through that application step by step with the people who attended.”
The process can be daunting, Norman explained, but with the help of the SNAP coordinators, many of those obstacles can be overcome. The coordinators can help with identifying needed documentation or with filling out the application.
“We're trying to get people from the very start to the very end of getting enrolled,” said Norman.
Norman was hopeful that 60 people would attend the SNAP enrollment event, and the early participation indicated that the event would meet expectations. But it doesn’t take a special event or limited timeframe to apply for assistance. People in need can apply anytime, and the food access alliance wants to be there to help.
“We hope to continue to do these events and make them better for the people who need them,” said Norman.
Having partners at the event certainly helped drive traffic to Grace United Methodist Church. Food4Souls was set up in the church parking lot with coffee and soup. There were also snack bags and resource bags to be handed out, along with socks and toiletries. Purdue University’s Howard County Extension Office, Food Finders Food Bank, and Indiana Health Center also were in attendance, offering assistance.
The Howard County Food Access Alliance was formed earlier this year to attempt to alleviate food insecurity locally. The SNAP enrollment event was the first outreach for the non-profit organization.
“We're working hard to get a lot of programs going,” said Norman. “We're hoping to enroll people in SNAP. We want to get a grocery store going on the north side where we have a large food desert. I'm hoping to have some meetings in some larger service areas that have a larger breadth of food insecurity than other areas of the county.
“I need a lot of help with that, so if I can get as many community partners in on this as possible, that would be more than helpful!”
To contact the Howard County Food Access Alliance, email normana@fsahc.org or call 317-797-9695.