Kelly Cunningham loves to cook.
Tonight, she has pasta on the stove. In her kitchen in Mount Vernon, 50 miles northeast of Columbus, she cuts up peppers for a pan of sizzling meat. She inherited this love from her grandmother 鈥� who passed down her recipes and her love of garlic salt.
But feeding her family of four has become stressful for Cunningham in recent months.
鈥淭owards the end of the month, we do a lot of 鈥榝end for yourself鈥� nights, where we feed the kids a full meal, and then we just kind of snack on whatever we have available,鈥� Cunningham said. 鈥淏ecause that's what we will have to do.鈥�
Around saw their food budgets get slashed in March. That鈥檚 when federal pandemic aid ended, and families on SNAP, also known as food stamps, in those benefits.
With food prices high, families like Cunningham鈥檚 are struggling to make ends meet.
She and her husband, Tyler Tanner, depend on food stamps to feed their two kids, 4-year-old Gabriel and 2-year-old Dawson. They鈥檝e received the assistance since 2019. But, for the last three years, they鈥檝e received an additional $250 dollars each month in COVID-19 emergency funds.
鈥淚t was very, very, very relieving,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e would actually go to the store together in those times because he was so excited that he didn't have to stress about it either.鈥�
That鈥檚 changed since the allotments ended. Now, she dreads going to the supermarket. It鈥檚 mentally exhausting.
鈥淜nowing that it might not be enough come the end of the month. Seeing that you're buying all of this, but how long is it going to last?鈥� Cunningham said.
They鈥檝e had to make sacrifices elsewhere to come up with the money. Sometimes that means no Wi-Fi for a month. Other times, they work at Instacart for some extra cash. That鈥檚 on top of Tanner鈥檚 full time job as a heavy machinery operator and the $743 they get in SNAP benefits each month.
鈥淭here will come a day when we will no longer need it,鈥� Tanner said. 鈥淏ut right now, it's been the greatest lifesaver we can have.鈥�
Still, it hasn鈥檛 been enough.
They鈥檝e had to rely on help from their family and supplement their shopping with visits to the food pantry to keep their fridge full. It鈥檚 one many other families have had to make. Mid-Ohio Food Collective has seen a 30 percent increase in new customers from this time last year.
Tanner brings a plate to Gabriel, then returns to the kitchen to talk with Cunningham about what bills still need to be paid. Gabriel watches Scooby Doo, unaware of the conversation. His brother Dawson sits in a high chair across the table, waving colby jack cheese in the air.
Every choice Tanner and Cunningham make is for the two of them. And those choices have gotten harder since pandemic aid ended.
鈥淒o we want to feed our kids? Do we want to pay the bills? Do we want to keep the lights on? Do we want to make sure that Gabriel has his favorite snacks?鈥� Tanner said.
鈥淲e play that game way too often,鈥� Cunningham added. 鈥淎nd it shouldn't be the case.鈥�
Without additional assistance, they鈥檒l keep playing that game, balancing their budget and doing whatever they need to, to keep their family fed.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Mid Ohio Food Collective has seen a 30 percent increase in new customers.
