With SNAP benefits in limbo, Atlanta residents step up to help

Many Atlanta volunteers, businesses and local leaders have stepped in to fill the gaps for those losing their SNAP payments; Tyler Perry alone donated $1.4 million to several hunger-related organizations.

But a movement of smaller, grassroots fundraisers fueled by more modest donations has cropped up as well. Donors have poured thousands of dollars into individual GoFundMe pages with relatively restrained goals and targeting specific communities.

In Gwinnett County, high school junior Jaeleon Hawkins-Jones created a fundraising page Oct. 27 with the goal of raising $2,800. Less than two weeks later, the fundraiser has nearly hit that amount. Hawkins-Jones shared an update that his project already distributed 40 boxes of food and gift cards to local families through the Southeast Gwinnett Co-Op Ministries.

“My family has relied on SNAP benefits too, so I understand how much these resources matter when you’re trying to make ends meet. That’s why this issue hits home for me,” Hawkins-Jones wrote on the fundraising page.

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal

In DeKalb County, a group of parents involved in Lakeside High School has raised more than $6,000 in about a week. According to the group’s GoFundMe page, nearly half of Lakeside students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. That statistic “means that those children come from families that almost certainly depend on SNAP benefits for survival,” the fundraising page said.

The money raised by the Lakeside parents will be used to purchase grocery gift cards for families in need and to stock neighborhood food pantries, according to the group. Any leftover funds remaining after SNAP benefits return will be donated to other direct assistance programs at the high school. The group’s goal is to raise $10,000.

A similar effort organized through Henderson Mill Middle School has raised nearly $5,000 in about six days. According to the GoFundMe page, nearly three-quarters of students at Henderson Mill qualify for free and reduced-price lunches.

Organizer Claire Kostopoulos shared an update Thursday that she had already delivered 24 grocery cards to 10 families, helping cover their food costs for about a week.

At Emory University, students and faculty at the Rollins School of Public Health have raised more than $2,500 in five days.

Proceeds will be donated directly to organizations fighting hunger, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank, among others.

The ACFB itself announced it would pull $5 million out of reserves to purchase extra food in preparation for increased demand. Kyle Waide, the ACFB’s president and CEO, recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the nonprofit’s website traffic had spiked by 500%.

Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity’s Alpha Rho chapter at Morehouse College raised more that $1,000 in less than a week to support families losing SNAP benefits in the Atlanta’s West End neighborhood.

Atlanta-based entrepreneur and activist Kiandria Demone has started multiple fundraisers to help families losing SNAP benefits. The Onyx Fund has the goal of distributing $100 to 100 families ahead of the holiday season in response to SNAP uncertainty. The effort has raised more than $2,000 in about five days.

Demone is also involved with the We Feed the Block organization, which simultaneously raised another $2,000. The nonprofit plans to feed more than 200 families in the Adamsville community.

To learn about ways to help metro Atlanta families facing the loss of SNAP benefits, read the AJC’s recent article about how to help.