BALTIMORE — High prices in grocery stores can hit hard for many, especially those who already struggle to get food on the table. Monday evening, Baltimore community groups came together to protest in front of city hall asking for local and federal governments to address shrinking food access.
They say food is a right and demand it to be treated as such.
These groups came together at the end of last year to rally for an end to the food deserts in Baltimore City. Now, with the recent end of additional SNAP benefits they say this has become an emergency to bring them back.
People marched in solidarity in front of city hall to fight for food access.
"Why did the food stamps have to get cut down? What's that all about,” asked Jeanette Snowden, who receives SNAP benefits.
On March 1, the pandemic era boost SNAP benefits ended. That dropped the average benefit by a little over $80 a month.
Snowden lives in Sandtown Winchester, one of the food deserts in Baltimore. She, like many others, is one of many who had her food stamps cut.
She says she now relies on food distribution programs to get the necessary healthy food.
"I’m a person that has deteriorated cartilage in my joints, so food is important for me, proper food to try to arrest some of the deterioration, “said Snowden.
Others fighting for the restoration of expanded food stamps say this cut also has a big impact on the children.
"If the kids don't get breakfast in morning from school, they may not get breakfast at all because the mother's food stamps had been cut so significantly that they have to decide whether or not that they are going to pay for clothes or pay for food,” said Marvin Cheatham, President of the Mathew Henson Neighborhood Association.
"People are going without food or eating from the dollar store, oodles of noodles, the nutrition of young people and elderly people is falling because of this crisis,” said Sharon Black, People's Power Assembly and Food is a Right campaign.
She says the additional SNAP benefits were given for the COVID emergency. Now, she is asking for government officials to alleviate the crisis of inflation by restoring the aid.
"Well we think the crisis is even bigger now with inflation so we still need an extra allotment of food stamps to cover the crisis that people are feeling in the communities in Baltimore,” said Black.
Black says they are looking to get 1,000 signatures on a petition to the city, state, county and federal government with demands of restoring SNAP benefits, rolling back prices and ending food deserts.
