Around 11 a.m. Friday morning the Liigwik suite inside the Kodiak marketplace was overflowing. An older man with a Pacific Seafood beanie, a mother holding her young daughter in her arms, teenagers and kids standing with their elder family members, all waiting in line to fill out applications to get financial assistance from the Kodiak Area Native Association or KANA.
Longtime resident Erlinda Bunsey, who has been living in Kodiak since 1989, was one of the first in line when KANA staff opened the office doors on Friday, Oct. 31. The 79-year-old retiree needs a little extra help paying for food right now.
“Now I live by myself because I am a widow," she said. "So they [KANA] had to look at my income, which was good. But they knew that I needed some kind of things that can be given to people.”
Bunsey worked at the local Safeway for nearly 30 years and now gets around with a cane after having both of her knees replaced. So once she filled out her KANA assistance application and waited in line, she was given a check for $250 to spend at the Cost Savers grocery store. KANA also offers general assistance, child care assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. However, some of these services require additional documents or proof of Alaska Native or American Indian status in order to qualify.
This new, temporary assistance was open to all community members who are facing uncertainty about their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits, or have been furloughed and are missing paychecks. Like Coast Guard Base Kodiak families. If the federal shutdown continues, base workers won’t be paid after Nov. 15 according to the U.S. Treasury Secretary.
The state Division of Public Assistance estimates roughly 1,000 people living in the Kodiak Island Borough receive SNAP benefits, which are for lower income households. Many more are eligible.
Shirley Sakaye, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Health, which oversees the division of public assistance, said in an email that 364 households in the Kodiak census area receive an average of $445 a month per household. Although the number of people in each household varies, as of Nov. 4, none of them have received their SNAP benefits yet for the month. As a result, Kodiak organizations like KANA and the food bank have been offering extra assistance where they can.
DeAnn Medina, the coordinator of the Salvation Army food bank in Kodiak, said this is going to be a tough time for the community.
“I know that not only those who are on SNAP program are going to be without the assistance that they need, but also we have the Coast Guard that’s being impacted with this issue," Medina said. "Salvation Army is doing their very best to rise to the occasion.”
Medina says community members and a variety of organizations in town have been giving more food donations to the food bank within the last couple weeks to help meet the growing need. There is also an ongoing food drive underway at the Kodiak Middle School for families facing food insecurity.
On top of SNAP benefits being interrupted, the Women, Infants and Children food program or WIC is in jeopardy of running dry in some states as early as Nov. 8 according to reporting from the Associated Press. So far this month, the Alaska WIC program says it remains fully operational, but it will provide additional updates if anything changes that affects WIC services in the state.
Ian Zacher is a farmer in Kodiak. He and his wife run the Feirme Bear Donn farm in Kodiak, the only local farm that accepts SNAP. For the first time this year, it also accepts WIC. His family has annually donated produce to the local women’s shelter and he said they keep some extra vegetables on hand this time of year to help feed local families.
"We always anticipate at the end of the year for the holidays people that need fresh veg. And so we always try to grow a wee bit more than what we sell for that need," Zacher explained. "And so this year is no different, even though the cold snap came early.”
There are also weekly boxes of produce available for families in need at the Kodiak food bank, along with the usual shelf stable dry goods and other items like milk.
Medina, with the food bank, said the only requirement to receive food at the Salvation Army is to show identification and tell her a rough estimate of your income.
“If you make $6,000 a month, so be it. We don’t know what your bills are. Your mortgage could be $3,000 or $4,000. We just want to help people," she said.
KANA received dozens of applications during the two days that the nonprofit and tribal health organization was offering food security assistance last week. According to KANA’s Community Services staff, they are no longer offering that specific food security assistance via gift cards or checks, but their other community services are still available.
If you are in need of financial assistance in Kodiak, stop by the Liigwik suite in the Kodiak marketplace and fill out an application with KANA. They’re open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you are in need of food, stop by the local food bank near the Salvation Army at 1855 Mission Road during distribution times on Tuesdays and Fridays, 3 to 5 p.m.
And if you’re wanting to help, there are many ways for you to donate or volunteer. Contact the local food bank for more information by calling 907 486 0086.
