HARLAN, Ind. (WPTA) – Peggy Nelson has volunteered at the Harlan Food Bank for 18 years.
She enjoys serving people every Thursday morning from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
“I just think it’s an important thing because it’s not only the young people that are having a hard time getting jobs … it’s the older residents of the community that (are) on a fixed income,” she said.
With talks of President Trump’s big beautiful bill cutting SNAP programs, Peggy is worried this will put a strain on local food banks.
“If clients’ food pantry or their food stamps are reduced, they will need extra food, so then we’ll probably have an increase of clients that will start coming,” she said.
And unfortunately, more clients mean emptier pantry shelves.
“We have a fixed amount of food that we give them every month for all the clients, and so that might change once we find out what’s happening with the SNAP program,” Nelson said.
Part of the reason why Harlan Food Bank’s shelves are so full right now is thanks to a nearby grocery store.
“A lot of this food we’ve been able to increase what we give our clients because of the Meijer ‘Simply Give’ program,” Nelson said.
When asked how Harlan food pantry is preparing for possible budget cuts, Nelson said there’s not much to do but wait.
“I guess we have to wait and find out, and then when we find out what’s gonna happen with that, then we’ll prepare,” she said.
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