Wichita utility companies offering assistance for low-income households
1 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Additional emergency SNAP benefits have ended as of Wednesday, March 1.
“We needed those,” a Wichita woman said. “I’m not kidding you. I needed them.”
This woman is one of the many in the state reliant on SNAP benefits. She says it’s what’s been getting her by for years.
“Everything has gone up,” she said. “That’s why they need those extra food stamps. They need them.”
With the extra pandemic benefits, her household would receive around $500 each month to stretch among her, her daughter and six grandkids.
Starting Wednesday, their household amount took a nose dive.
“Since they decreased her and decreased me, right at maybe $210 or something like that now,” she said.
The president and CEO of the Kansas Food Bank, Brian Walker, says they expect to see higher demand with families looking to fill this new gap.
“We wish it wasn’t going to happen because folks are struggling with inflation and higher food prices right now, and this is just going to be another issue for folks that are struggling to put food on the table already,” Walker said.
But she is determined not to let it defeat her.
“We may not get to buy the food that we used to, especially the meat, but we’re not going to starve,” she said.
Walker suggests utilizing the following resources: