Halloween fundraiser seeks to help immigrants buy food, as SNAP benefit lapse looms
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A Minneapolis refugee services organization is leveraging the Halloween spirit for a “reverse trick-or-treat,” inviting community members to donate grocery store gift cards for clients who are set to lose SNAP benefits in November.
The refugee support organization Alight serves about 400 refugee families who arrived in the U.S. in the last five years, many from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Most of them rely on SNAP to buy food, said Oksana Shcherbakova, a program manager at Alight.
“All of our clients are newcomers, and they have a ton of challenges,” Shcherbakova said. “SNAP is really helpful for them, so they’re faced with some stress.”
Alight asked for gift cards in any amount at their Minneapolis office Friday. Donors stopped by throughout the morning to contribute to the pumpkin-and-spider decorated collection bowls in the nonprofit’s front room.
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Stacy Barnes is a co-director of Alight’s U.S. enterprise. She said she’s heard from concerned clients about the looming lapse in SNAP funds.
“We really wanted to do something to ensure that families could at least have groceries for a week,” Barnes said.
SNAP payments typically land in recipient’s accounts in the first half of the month; the specific date depends on the recipient’s case number. Starting Nov. 1, those payments won’t come in, until Congress ends the federal shutdown or the federal government covers the costs with other funds. Several states have sued the federal government to keep benefits going; a judge heard those arguments this week.
Barnes said Alight is hoping to help bridge the gap until the federal legislators can come to an agreement that gets SNAP going again.
“I think we're all looking forward to just more collaboration, cohesion and people coming together to make sure that people have the resources and the services that they need,” Barnes said. “We're doing as much as we can on our part just to help those things come together.”
Barnes said Alight is also referring clients to food banks and looking for ways to help them get there and navigate the process.
Staff said they raised more than $7,000 throughout the morning. They’re also continuing to collect funds online. They’ll start distributing gift cards to families this week.
