The St. Johns County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously supported County Administrator Joy Andrews’s recommendation to appropriate $200,000 from the county’s emergency reserves to local food pantries through its Health and Human Services Department. The commission also supported suspending water utility disconnections for non-payment through the end of November.
The commission acted in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture announcing, at President Trump’s direction, that it would not issue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, benefits staring Nov. 1, despite a federal judge’s order to do so.
The appropriation will enable the food pantries to buy and distribute food to St. Johns residents experiencing food insecurity due to the shutdown. Funds will be administered through the HHS, in coordination with local nonprofits, to ensure community coverage. No similar plans have been discussed at any of Flagler County’s local governments. Flagler Broadcasting is holding its annual Food-A–Thon on Friday, on its radio stations, to raise $100,000 for Grace Community Food Pantry, perhaps enabling local governments to shrug off their responsibility to contribute on a broader scale. About 7.4 percent of Flagler County’s households receive food stamps. The proportion is around 4.5 percent in St. Johns, according to the Associated Press, based on 2023 data.
“A lapse in these federal benefits may create a sudden and severe food insecurity for over 9,700 low-income residents in our community,” Andrews said. “The County has established a $20 million emergency reserve fund this fiscal year to respond to emergencies such as this. One of the priorities of our Strategic Plan is Community Well-Being, and this response to this emergency is an example of the County’s continued compassion towards those in need within our community.”
Andrews had sent a memo to commissioners earlier this week about the proposal. She brought up the appropriation recommendation at the very end of Tuesday’s five-and-a-half-hour commission meeting. It was not on the agenda. Because it entailed an appropriation exceeding $5,000, it would have had to be–unless the commission waived the rule. The commission unanimously did so, then unanimously approved the motion to appropriate the money and suspend disconnections until the end of November.
“We can always come back and revisit this. We have a meeting every two weeks,” Andrews said.
St. Johns’s HHS continues to evaluate the capacity assessment and needs of local food pantry organizations. The County will publicly announce plans as they are finalized for providing funds to local food pantries, non-profits, and faith-based organizations to purchase and distribute food, a county release stated. While HHS will not be directly distributing food, the department will support community partners who provide these vital services to residents in need.
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