Food Giveaway Slated; Rule Changes Enforced

Published by admin on Tue, 06/04/2024 - 4:06pm

Food Giveaway Slated;

Rule Changes Enforced

The second of five food giveaways planned for Milbank will be Wednesday, June 12, from 4 to 5 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Grant County Christian Service Council and Feeding South Dakota, will be in the Living Word Church parking lot on north Highway 15.

Those taking advantage of the food giveaway will notice several recognizable changes from previous events if they didn’t attend in May. The changes are the result of Feeding South Dakota now receiving a large percentage of the food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them emergency food assistance at no cost, and the USDA provides the products and funds to operate this program.

“Because of the involvement of the federal government, there are specific requirements and rules that must be followed,” explained Brenda Maass, an organizer. “First, unlike the giveaways in the past, federal commodity rules require Feeding South Dakota to serve only South Dakota residents, so recipients at the Milbank distribution can only be residents of South Dakota. Secondly, recipients must now meet federal income guidelines.”

The income guidelines will be posted at the event, as well as in this article and in the Milbank ICAP office in the Grant County Courthouse.

Recipients will not be asked for verification of household income but will self-report and indicate whether they meet the income eligibility guidelines.

At registration, individuals receiving food will be required to provide their name, number in the household, address and signature of the family member receiving the food. Those who attended the Milbank giveaway last month, will already be on the TEFAP list and will only have to verify that the information is correct.

Recipients who didn’t attend last month, will be asked to fill out a small form at the entrance verifying your family information.

The third notable change is because participants must now meet federal income guidelines. It impacts the way guests can pick up food for another family. As in the past, participants may pick up food for one other family, but the additional family must also be residing in South Dakota and must meet the federal income guidelines as well. The second family must fill out the TEFAP Proxy form with the guest who will be picking up the food for them. “Even if you are picking up food for the same family you picked up for last month, you will still need to have a completed proxy form for them again this time,” Maass said. “This is essentially their ‘ticket’ to receive food.” The forms will be available prior to the giveaway at the Milbank ICAP office or at: https:// www.feedingsouthdakota.org/general-uploads/TEFAP-Proxy-Effective-7-1-202...

As in the past, because of the close proximity to Highway 15, organizers ask recipients to arrive no earlier than 2:30 p.m. as volunteers won’t be available to park vehicles until that time. Do not park in the church parking lot until the volunteers are there to give parking instructions.

Those picking up food will enter the lot where instructed and receive further traffic flow directions. Recipients are asked to simply open their trunks or back liftgates of their vehicles once they are in line, and volunteers will place the boxes in the vehicle. Have a space ready for the food to be placed in the vehicle so the traffic flow will not be disrupted by needing additional time to make room for your boxes. The church will be open during the giveaway, so restrooms will be available.

Those interested in volunteering for this event or who need more information should text Maass at 605-880-7176 or email at brendajmaass@gmail.com.