LAFAYETTE, IN — Imagine you’re hanging on the edge of a cliff. Your fingertips are barely clinging to the jagged edge of a rock, while the rest of your body is suspended in mid-air with the chance of free-falling rising as the minutes go by.
But as you’re holding on, a hand reaches down and swipes your fingers, causing you to lose your grip and fall.
That is how Wes Tillett, executive director of Lafayette Urban Ministry, describes the feeling of losing SNAP benefits amid the continued government shutdown after President Donald Trump’s administration declined on Oct. 24 to extend funding to approve food stamps in November.
In 2023, more than 16,000 residents in Tippecanoe County qualified for SNAP benefits, according to data provided by Feeding America. That number is just 55% of the overall food-insecure population of the county, with an additional 13,149 residents making just enough money to fall through the cracks of direct federal assistance.
Those numbers have only continued to grow in recent years, Food Finders Food Bank CEO Kier Crites Muller said. In September, the Food Finders Fresh Market, 2451 Greenbush St., Crites Muller said the grocery store drew more than 15,000 visitors.
Of those visitors, Crites Mullers said two-thirds of that number were visiting the Fresh Market every week.
As the Nov. 1 date looms for SNAP recipients, Crites Muller said local providers are working to triage the situation, treating the moment similar to that of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“The difference during COVID is if you look at the data in 2020 and 2021, you saw a decrease in the need for just one year,” Crites Muller said. “At first, that didn’t make sense, but it was a time when everyone came together and we were trying to see people not fall through the cracks. We had additional assistance federally, but that’s the difference now. It’s being taken away instead.”
Meeting a need not seen since the 2008 recession
Crites Muller said she was scrolling Facebook on Sunday when a post in a community group caught her eye. The post asked whether it was true that SNAP benefits could run out on Saturday, Nov. 1.
As people in the comments confirmed the news was true, Crites Muller said she saw a woman in the comments post that she needed assistance right now. Crites Muller said she messaged the woman privately, explaining she was going to the store that day and would be happy to pick up anything the woman needed.
The woman told Crites Muller that she needed only feminine hygiene products, Pull-Ups for her toddler, and some food she knew her toddler would eat.
Walking the aisles of Aldi unlocked memories for Crites Muller of shopping with members of her church, who encouraged her to grab a few things off the grocery shelves that she and her mother would enjoy at home.
Standing in Aldi, Crites Muller said she knew she had enough money to “do a little more” this week, so she filled up a box with food for the young mom.
Crites Muller fields messages and emails from people almost daily, explaining they’ve seen her name in the news and they don’t know where to turn for help. She works as quickly as she can, she said, to help those who reach out directly to find services they desperately need.
But what will happen come Nov. 1?
“That’s what breaks my heart,” Crites Muller said, taking a moment to catch her breath while continuing in a shaky voice, “how scared people must be feeling. They do not want to ask for help, but they are in a moment of desperation. SNAP provides stability. They know that help is coming every month. It usually isn’t enough alone, but having that taken away is a huge disservice to us all.”
Fairfield Township Trustee Monica Casanova said that so far in 2025, the township has received 903 requests for financial assistance. Of those, 527 requests have been addressed.
In previous years, township residents could ask for help with either rent or utilities. Casanova said this year, she decided to allow requests for both.
As of Oct. 28, Casanova said the township has awarded $43,721 toward utilities, $221,653 in housing, $19,170 for burials and cremation, $686 for medication, and $833 for food assistance. Watching food insecurity increase in recent years, Casanova said the township has also started a free food pantry in the Fairfield Township trustee’s office.
In 2008, Casanova said the township received 821 requests for financial assistance, a total combined benefits award of $113,692.
“It’s similar numbers in terms of the amount of requests we’re receiving, but not anywhere near the kind of assistance we are giving out now,” Casanova said. “That was nearly 20 years ago, and of course rent has gone up considerably, which makes a huge difference.”
Tillett said LUM has also seen record numbers of residents looking for help with utility bills and housing. When the organization’s annual Jubilee Christmas program opened in early October, Tillett said the slots for those seeking gifts for their children filled up almost immediately just with families it has served in the past year. Each year, Jubilee Christmas serves about 1,500 children around Tippecanoe County.
“The number of checks we’ve written to Duke Energy, I mean, I want to change my last name to Duke,” Tillett said. “We are writing crazy amounts of checks because people just can’t afford it. Wages aren’t going up, but everything else has. People can’t afford anything.”
But despite the increase in assistance requests Tippecanoe County organizations have received, they are continuing to plan for Nov. 1, so neighbors don’t go hungry.
Filling gaps with hot meals and conversation
Walking around the Food Finders warehouse at 1210 N. 10th St. on Tuesday afternoon, Justin Henry and Bill Fielding are doing their weekly shopping for the Brown Street United Methodist Church in Lafayette.
Henry, a former local chef, and Fielding, a church member, plan and prepare a warm meal each week for the church community and its neighbors. Using fresh produce and ingredients that Food Finders receives from grocery stores, Fielding said the Tuesday night meal often feels like a family dinner.
Henry loads 35 pounds of potatoes onto the flat top of a rolling cart. It’s what’s available this week from local grocery stores, which donate produce that isn’t quite fit to sell, and Henry is happy.
But what he’s most happy for is the pallet of cupcakes from Sam’s Club.
They don’t really need them, Henry said, because Fielding and his wife have already made brownies for dinner. The meals are different each week, although Henry wasn’t sure what this night’s main course was going to be.
The church uses tablecloths and real silverware, encouraging conversation and community for those who dine and volunteer. Crites Muller said the recent dinner she was able to attend — spaghetti, garlic bread and cake — was uplifting.
“It’s a no-questions-asked meal. The church is inviting people in to make them feel human,” Crites Muller said. “I was so moved when I went, but it truly takes organizations like the Brown Street Church to fill the gaps we are seeing.”
Fielding said the planning and volunteer work he puts into the community meals each week feed the hunger in his soul for meaningful work. He’s begun looking forward to the meals.
Henry said it’s meaningful for him, too, as a chef who no longer works professionally. Knowing people in his own community are going hungry just doesn’t sit right.
“Going hungry? That’s something that makes my brain explode,” Henry said. “As a chef, I know how much food there is left over at a restaurant at the end of each night that will get thrown away. Look at this town and the insane number of chain restaurants we have. There is so much food here. No one should be hungry.”
Aiming to meet the need ahead of the season of giving
Being a part of the Feeding America non-profit network, Crites Muller said Food Finders has immense buying power. With $1, the local food bank can turn that into three meals.
Despite that buying power, Crites Muller said she is concerned for what happens if the lapse in SNAP benefits becomes long-term.
“We can help in the immediate need, but if this goes on longer, I am concerned with the funding it will take,” Crites Muller said. “We are so grateful for our supporters and donors. We have seen an increase in donors in the last few days of people wanting to help in ways that they can, and we are going to continue to need that extra support.”
Crites Muller said she has held several meetings with her staff, planning for SNAP benefits to end. Treating the moment like a COVID-19 response, Crites Muller said the Food Finders team is planning additional mobile food pantries across the 16 counties the non-profit serves, providing more food to their agency partners, and keeping the Fresh Market open for all who come through its doors.
Crites Muller said that also creates additional need for volunteers.
“One of the things I told my team is to expect to see a lot of new people and to expect longer lines,” she said. “We will need more volunteers on hand as we add additional mobile food pantries, and we’ll be updating our website with new needs as they are planned.”
Casanova said the Fairfield Township trustee’s pantry is filled by Food Finders. One thing a caseworker noticed when families would use the free pantry, she said, was that canned goods without pull-tabs were often left behind.
So she’s begun stocking the pantry with can openers, too.
“I want us to be a resource when SNAP benefits run out, too,” Casanova said. “Our game plan for anyone receiving SNAP benefits is to have them come in and fill out an application that is shorter than usual. As long as they can show that they were recently receiving SNAP and can present a valid ID to show they live in the township, we are going to help them with food assistance.”
Casanova said she’s already begun reaching out to Pay-Less grocery stores for approved food vouchers. Casanova is still worried for the Greater Lafayette Community.
“Families and children will go hungry. That’s not the kind of community I want to live in,” Casanova said. “We have to take care of our people, and they shouldn’t have to suffer because of these political chicken games.”
While it can be easy to feel helpless in this moment, Crites Muller said it’s important not to fall into despair. Food Finders’ annual Drive Away Hunger campaign kicks off on Friday, Oct. 31, encouraging neighborhoods and local residents to organize their own food drives to help meet the community’s need.
As much as she’s tired of hearing the word, Crites Muller said the times we are living in are truly unprecedented. But it will take an entire community to ensure that everyone is fed.
“I urge people to think about one another and to do what they can in this moment,” Crites Muller said. “It is going to take everyone linking arms together to meet this need, and I am already so proud of our community. We are so thankful for the support we’ve received so far, but it’s going to take so much more.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe County organizations plan for end of SNAP benefits on Nov. 1 | Spending Time
Reporting by Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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