Morrisey announces that more than 10,000 food boxes have been delivered by WV National Guard
By Autumn Shelton, RealWV
CHARLESTON, WV – Over 10,000 boxes of food have been delivered to food pantries and citizens in need by members of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) since SNAP benefits were withheld on Nov. 1 due to the ongoing government shutdown.
According to Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who held a press conference on Tuesday at the Step by Step Family Support Center in Charleston, 6,653 boxes of food have been delivered to food pantries and 3,936 boxes have been delivered directly to citizens and pop-up food pantries, as of November 4, by the WVNG.
In addition to the food boxes, members of the WVNG are also hand-delivering checks to various food pantries across the state and providing logistical support for this statewide effort, Morrisey added.
To fund this effort, Morrisey said that $8.6 million in emergency funding has been distributed to West Virginia’s food banks, including $1.1 million provided by the state’s legislature, $5 million in contingency funding and an additional $2.5 million in state funding pledged by the governor on Friday.
“We’ve asked that the food pantries spend those funds locally with producers, grocery stores and retailers,” Morrisey said. “We know that a number of West Virginia businesses are missing out on some of the regular sales through the SNAP program, and this influx should help fill the void.”
Morrisey added that it will cost about $1.5 million a day to ensure food is available to all West Virginians, and the need is anticipated to continue for some time. However, churches, civic groups and businesses are “stepping up.”
“I can report that, as of this morning, we had at least $300,000 in donations combined with Facing Hunger Food Bank and Mountaineer Food Bank,” Morrisey said, noting that additional in-kind contributions of fruit and milk from the private sector have been estimated to be over $400,000.
Should the need arise for additional funding for food banks, over what has already been pledged, Morrisey said he would call the state’s legislature into session to make it happen.
“While we have heard that SNAP cards are going to be turned on relatively soon, they’ll be turned on not at the full benefit,” Morrisey said. “So, I’m going to continue to make sure that people have the food they need, and we’re gonna accelerate the monies to get ahead of it.”
WVNG Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Jim Seward added that he is proud of the work being done across the state.
“A week ago we started calling our service members to activate some of them to come onto this mission,” Seward said. “Not a single employer across West Virginia objected. Every guard member that we requested was able to leave their normal place of employment and come serve West Virginias. That says a lot about the commitment to West Virginia’s businesses or on behalf of West Virginia businesses.”
Seward noted that the WVNG is planning pop-up food pantries to be available in specific areas this weekend.
For those who need food assistance, call 2-1-1 or visit wv211.org, or contact a local Family Resource Network (FRN) for community-based support and updated food distribution lists.
According to Seward, about 300-400 West Virginians called 2-1-1 for food assistance per day this past Saturday and Sunday.
