STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Claire Babineaux-Fontenot joins us next. She is CEO of Feeding America, with a network of more than 250 food banks across the country. Welcome to the program.
CLAIRE BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Thanks for having me back.
INSKEEP: I want to understand the basics here. So you've got a family. They qualify for this SNAP, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Aid (ph). They want to get groceries. How does the system normally work in normal times?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: In normal times, the access comes through an EBT card - looks like a debit card - and they just use it at a grocery store. So in a normal environment, they're out there making choices for their own families, and they're also supporting their local economies at the same time.
INSKEEP: OK. So there's money that's put into an account, then they can use this debit card to get it out and spend on groceries at the grocery store next to anybody else. So what happens now is that there'll be no money behind that card.
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: That's exactly right. So they're not going to load new money onto the card, and the reality is for most people who receive SNAP, the monies that are already loaded are long gone by the end of the month.
INSKEEP: OK. So what does that mean as of Saturday? What is the reality of that for a lot of people?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: The reality is that truly as of over a week ago, there are households across the country that do not have access to food. That's the bottom line.
INSKEEP: Where do your more than 250 food banks come in, then?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Well, we are a large part of the charitable food system in the country. So we're a network that includes over 250 food banks, over 60,000 agency partners and meal programs all across the country. To give you a sense of scale, we see about 50 million people every year and we provide over 6 billion meals to those 60 million people. So...
INSKEEP: Well, I'm trying to figure out do - would these be people who might have the SNAP benefits, they're buying some groceries, but they might also go to your food bank and get some free food? Is that how this is happening?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: You got it exactly right. So there are two categories of people who tend to access the charitable food system. One are people who with the SNAP benefits, they still don't have enough to make ends meet, so they turn to us. But the fastest growing segment is actually people who don't qualify for any federal nutrition program. So imagine the pain that will be visited upon people who have relied upon SNAP in the past.
INSKEEP: I guess we should just be real about that. This is somebody who's got a job, but it's not a great-paying job, and...
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Yes.
INSKEEP: ...They've got some kids and they just don't have enough.
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: One hundred - that's exactly right.
INSKEEP: OK.
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Yes.
INSKEEP: So if you have people that are sometimes coming by your food bank, and they're also using the SNAP benefits, and now there's nothing there for them, can you take care of them? Can you give them double the amount? Is there something you're able to do?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: We're doing everything that we can, but the reality is that we're already having to turn people away. So one of the things that happens on the other side of this, with the shutdown, is that the Feeding America network provides the large majority of federal commodities that are distributed across the country. And that's where the federal government has a partnership with farmers, growers, producers, ranchers and the Feeding America network, and we get food out to people who need it. And when the government shut down, we're not able to do that in the way that we would if it were not.
INSKEEP: Ah, so you also are going to have a shortage of supply by and by.
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Absolutely, we will. And at a time when the lines were already growing, right? So shortness - shortened supply, both from federal commodities, from overall donations. Something's been happening of late. Some suggest that it might be fatigue, but we're not seeing the same level of response to this shutdown as we have to previous ones, and this one is a lot worse.
INSKEEP: Well, you listened with me to Stephen Fowler's report, in which the administration has quoted saying we can't legally shift the money over, but they seem to have managed to shift money over for other things. Do you believe the government is closing off funding for food here because they absolutely have to?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: I hope that this is not a bargaining chip. That's what I can say. I don't serve as a lawyer in this role, so I won't pretend to function that way here. But what I can say is this should be one of the things that we don't bargain over this. These are real people, real issues. And this is our country, and we can do better by them. So we call out to the administration, use every available resource, to Congress, use every available resource. Don't let this be a bargaining chip. And to your listeners, please call your members of Congress and support your local organizations that are out there on the frontlines.
INSKEEP: OK. Claire Babineaux-Fontenot is CEO of Feeding America. Thanks so much.
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Thanks for having me back. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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