Tons of free non-perishables and canned goods are headed to Alaska communities through the Food Bank of Alaska, but Wrangell’s food pantries haven’t signed on to the program.
The town’s largest food pantry at The Salvation Army says it is well stocked with local donations.
After a state agency’s monthslong backlog of processing applications for food stamp benefits left residents throughout Alaska struggling to feed their families, the governor in late February directed $1.7 million to help. The money is intended to stock food pantries, particularly in rural communities, where food prices are already high and where the delay in food stamps has taken the hardest toll.
State officials say that the delays have been caused by ongoing staffing shortages, a 2021 cyberattack, outdated online systems and a flood of applications needing review.
Of Wrangell’s roughly 1,000 households, an average of 122 a month received food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2022, totaling more than $700,000 in benefits for the state fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022.
According to a four-year average between 2015 and 2019, Wrangell’s percentage of households that receive benefits is about 5% higher than the overall state average, but on par with other rural Alaska municipalities.
However, neither of the community’s food pantries at The Salvation Army or Seventh-day Adventist Church signed up for the state program of additional food donations. As a rule, The Salvation Army does not accept state aid and “it’s unlikely that the (Seventh-day Adventist Church) would take advantage of this opportunity because it’s so different from what they usually do,” explained Anthony Reinert, director of programs with the Anchorage-based Food Bank of Alaska. The Seventh-day Church typically focuses on seniors, he said.
“Different organizations have different capacities to distribute the food,” explained Cara Durr, the food bank’s media spokesperson. “Some might not have the capacity to distribute it.”
The Food Bank of Alaska relies on its local partners to determine their level of need and their ability to distribute goods. Any aid that might have gone to a Wrangell food pantry — if any had applied — will likely be headed to another municipality.
Wrangell Salvation Army Lt. Jon Tollerud has found the church doesn’t need state food aid. Its current offerings are “sufficient and more,” he said, to meet the community’s needs. “We have not closed due to lack of food in 3.5 years,” he said. “The community is excellent at providing.”
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