BOISE, Idaho — On a recent Friday, volunteer Johanna Dunten checked in visitors at the St. Vincent de Paul Overland Food Pantry in Boise. She asked for their identification, sometimes their address, and sent them on their way to get their groceries with another volunteer.
At a pantry where about 40% of the patrons rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP — a program formerly known as food stamps — volunteers like Dunten have seen unease spread through the clientele since the Trump administration proposed work-requirement changes to the program, according to the Idaho Press.
SNAP benefits, offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are used to purchase food at grocery stores every month. Able-bodied adults aged 18 to 49 can only receive three months of benefits every three years unless they work or are in training 20 hours a week.
States and counties with high unemployment can request a waiver for these work requirements. The rule change, slated to take effect April 1, would make it more difficult to waive work requirements for able-bodied, childless adults aged 18 to 49.
Twelve counties in Idaho currently waive work requirements, and the rule change could impact an estimated 100 Idahoans in those counties, according to the Idaho Department Health and Welfare. Over 12,000 people in these counties use SNAP benefits.
The counties that would be affected by the change are in rural areas, "with weak labor market conditions and few full-time, year round jobs," the Idaho Foodbank, on behalf of several Idaho nonprofits, said in a statement earlier this month. "Many of Idaho’s farmers and ranchers who rely on SNAP, face unstable work conditions through no fault of their own, like price fluctuations, changing tariffs, and weather conditions that impact farm output."
Canyon and Ada counties, which both have an unemployment rate below 3%, do not use waivers.
Even though Treasure Valley SNAP recipients would not see a change to their benefits, "the fervor that goes through the community when there is any news of SNAP benefits being cut, the whole world seems to turn upside down," said Ralph May, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Southwest Idaho.
"What we run into is every time there is talk about SNAP benefits being cut, we see a real anxiety level on the part of our clients," May said.
Concerns about benefit changes especially run high among families, Dunten said. The rule change around work waivers, however, would not apply to families.
In a Dec. 4 statement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said changing the work-requirement waiver gets the SNAP program closer to what it was intended to be: help through a hard time, but not a way of life.
"Government can be a powerful force for good, but government dependency has never been the American dream," Perdue's statement reads. "This rule lays the groundwork for the expectation that able-bodied Americans re-enter the workforce where there are currently more job openings than people to fill them.”
Some estimates show the SNAP changes could save $5 billion over five years, NPR reported.
May said he agrees with "encouraging people to get jobs and to work and be able to contribute to the greater community," but he added "at the same time we run into people every day that have circumstances that are hobbling them and inhibiting them from fully participating."
"Conceptually you would say 18 to 49, with no dependents and no disability, of course they should be working; but in the course of our humanity there will be 1,000 reasons in a given circumstance to why someone may not be working," May said. "They may have every intention of going to work but there is a series of things that happen in people’s lives that cause that. It is not that simple."
'WE ARE HERE TO HELP'
Statewide, over 143,000 people use SNAP benefits, including 10% of Canyon County's population and 6% of Ada's.
David Hinkle, 66, said he visits St. Vincent's Overland food pantry only when his SNAP benefits and monthly Social Security check don't cover the grocery bill.
"I only have about $16 a month for food, and that only buys one meal unless you buy ramen," he said. "I eat a lot of ramen."
Hinkle, who uses crutches because of a disability, said he recently lost his home and is now living in a motel.
"It is really expensive, which is one of the reasons I am here," he said. "I have to pay rent."
Hinkle added that it is very difficult to get an apartment in Boise, "especially when you are on Social Security, because they want you to (earn) three times your rent, and I can’t work."
For adults in the age range with work requirements, lack of transportation can be a hurdle to employment, May said.
"Maybe you are 18 to 49 years old, but you don't have transportation, you can’t afford it," he said. "We have a bus system and that is good, but it doesn't cover all places and the schedules are difficult. Public transportation is not what we would love it to be."
May added that getting a job is really difficult for people who may have just gotten out of prison.
April Neale, who runs media and public relations for the Southwest Idaho District Council of St. Vincent de Paul, said the organization wants to reassure people "they are not going to go hungry, and that we are here to help whether they get SNAP benefits or they don’t."
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