Loss of AmeriCorps impacts OPRF Food Pantry

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 10:00 PM

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On Feb. 19, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget that included — with many other deep social service cuts — the complete elimination of the AmeriCorps service-learning program. This cut would hit close to home: The Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry shares one of Illinois' 2,600 AmeriCorps volunteers with West Suburban PADS. Our AmeriCorps volunteer, Hallie Trauger, works half-time at the pantry, where she focuses on assisting clients with applications for food stamps and other public benefits.

The Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry pays $4,000 per year for this 20-hour-per-week position. The clients that Hallie has helped in just the past six months together receive more than $9,000 each month in SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps) alone. The SNAP program has also been proven to be a powerful economic generator, stimulating $1.80 in economic activity for every $1 of benefits. This means that in February, for example, a half-time AmeriCorps member paid $330 by the food pantry helped generate about $16,500 in economic activity in the 28 ZIP codes we serve.

So what will happen if the AmeriCorps program disappears? The Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry will still give out a staggering 40,000 to 50,000 pounds of food each month. But the pantry's mission is not just to give away food, but reduce local hunger. And every client who connected to SNAP benefits means one more person who can buy their own groceries, an additional $225 per month in local economic activity, and more food in the pantry for those struck by unexpected emergencies.

Around the country AmeriCorps volunteers like Hallie help nonprofits to pursue their missions creatively and with greater attention to clients' individual needs. At once a job-training opportunity for volunteers, a subsidy to nonprofits and a service to struggling community members, AmeriCorps is a program we cannot afford to lose. Call or e-mail your U.S. senators and representatives.

Kathy Russell
Executive director, OPRF Food Pantry