During a Nov. 5 Woodbury city council meeting, Jeff Dahl, City Administrator, proposed funding to help provide food to residents who have lost benefits due to the “pause” in SNAP funding during the federal government shutdown.
The funds would go to Open Cupboard, Woodbury’s food shelf. Winnie Williams, Open Cupboard’s chair and a longtime Woodbury resident and volunteer, had alerted city staff to the recent significant increases in the number of people relying on the food shelf.
Using a similar approach to the Oakdale City Council’s choice to feed those who lost SNAP benefits, Dahl proposed a resolution to make a donation from Woodbury’s legal gambling fund financed by bars that pay a fee to the city to sponsor legal pull tabs.
City Attorney Kevin Sandstrom explained during the meeting that these fees are not a tax or a levy and legally cannot be used for regular expenses. The law requires that they be given to charities that care for city residents and specifically lists food shelves as a priority.
Dahl’s resolution proposed allocating $10,000 to Open Cupboard and setting aside another $10,000 should the pause continue.
Mayor Anne Burt invited Jessica Francis, Open Cupboard’s director, to answer council questions. Francis shared that 2,415 visits to the food shelf’s programs were made by members of Woodbury households just in September. Moreover, the number of visits to Open Cupboard has been increasing in anticipation of the SNAP shutdown and has been building with the lack of November funding.
On Nov. 5, people waited in line for more than two hours before the food shelf even opened.
Council member Donna Stafford asked what portion of the donation would go to administration. Francis responded that 98 percent of Open Cupboard’s funding is distributed to the community, and if the council chose, they could designate 100 percent be spent on food. Eight dollars of food, including fresh produce, can be purchased for every dollar donated to Woodbury’s food shelf.
Council member Kim Wilson stated that she expected the shutdown would end quickly and that she thought the community should deal with the situation by volunteering and donating canned goods. Wilson even offered to let people drop off the donations on her porch. She was especially reluctant to approve the second donation on an “if needed basis.”
Wilson later shared that she has relied on Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Women, Infants and Children and food stamps but felt it should not be the government’s responsibility to feed people. Member Steve Morris suggested that reluctance to allocate a second check could be alleviated by giving Open Cupboard $20,000 right away.
There was no support for his position voiced by the other members.
Mayor Burt asked if the modest amount from the fund previously used to purchase public safety equipment could be increased to alleviate pressure on the budget but was told by the administrator and the attorney that an increase would violate the statute.
Council member Wilson proposed an amendment to the resolution stating that only $10,000 be allocated to Open Cupboard. It passed unanimously.
Council members did tell Francis that Open Cupboard could return with another request from the fund should the increased need for food in the community persist.
Open Cupboard continues to serve everyone in our community in need of food six days a week at multiple sites and through delivery to the homebound. Information on getting help, donating, and volunteering is always available on its website.
