OPINIONS & COMMENTARY

“Linda” is among the thousands of new people we serve at Mercy Center’s food pantry since the cuts this past February to COVID SNAP benefits, formerly food stamps. She is a hard-working, single mom with four teenagers who, overnight, went from $600 per month in SNAP benefits to just $150 in food assistance. The $450 reduction in benefits, along with the continued high prices of groceries, already makes it impossible for her to purchase enough food to feed her children. Simply put, she must turn to our pantry to make up the difference.

At Mercy Center in Asbury Park, the families we serve are still struggling because of historically high food costs, low wages, and the end of COVID SNAP benefits. It does not surprise us that United Way of Northern Jersey just reported, “37 percent of working families struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic.” The termination of COVID SNAP benefits in February dramatically affected families in Monmouth