Library Advisory Board Meeting - February 26, 2026 - Canceled - Feb 26, 2026

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Prince William County Library Board 2h 0m 2 speakers 8 agenda items transcribed 6 days ago official recording ↗

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What SNAP benefits are available and how can residents apply for them?

Unknown 0:00

local government, community partners to be able to provide that type of assistance. When that left, then it really was up to the local government and community partners without the funding and churches to be able to assist individuals. And that need has increased even more because some people were able to recover from COVID, some were not. Meaning some people were able to go back and resume their jobs. Of course. Others did not. And so they had to figure out how to do that. So, you know, with the local Department of Social Services, we have what we call the SNAP program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that's federally funded. And it is really based on your income and your household size.

Unknown 0:46

So based on the income that you have and the number of individuals that you have in your household really bases the allotment that you will receive. And so we have about 47,000 individuals in the county that receive SNAP benefits. That's about 15,000 households. Okay. 15,000 households? 15,000 households, 47,000 individuals. If someone were interested just in knowing a bit more, getting more information about sort of not just the SNAP program, but just food assistance generally, where would they go on our website? Well, a couple of things. Number one, we have on our DSS website information about how to apply for SNAP. You can also apply for SNAP on CommonHelp. So they can also come in the office to submit a paper application and we can assist them with that.

Unknown 1:41

And then for individuals who income is higher than the limit for SNAP, you know, there is Virginia 211, which is the referral information system which covers the state of Virginia. You can call 211. You can give them your zip code, and they will provide you information regarding SNAP. Food pantries, information for community partners and churches. They give out food. And it's not regarding your income. There's no certain eligibility requirements that you need to meet. And you can contact them and they will give you that information as well. For our seniors, you know, we have our area agency on aging that have Meals on Wheels. So social services in Prince William County does so much. I mean, I feel like the sky really is the limit in terms of scope of services.

Unknown 2:31

We probably don't have time today to sort of cover it all, but wanted to talk just because there was a big issue here about panhandling and some of the work that the county has done. really based on the leadership of our board in the community. This sort of reaches out to us concerned about, you know, someone who might be homeless or experiencing homelessness or in need of some support. Where do they call? How do they get help? So I wonder if we could just sort of talk a little bit about panhandling and what we do in Prince William County. We do have a panhandling hotline that we established a couple of years ago for individuals in the community who have concerns. Someone may be unsheltered and panhandling.

Unknown 3:19

They can call that number and they can leave information. That number, that information goes directly to our panhandling or our street outreach teams. So we have four employees that comprises our street outreach team and they cover the entire county. They engage with individuals in the community that you may see in the median or elsewhere. It's so helpful to know, I'm glad you sort of said it, that we get a call from, you know, a concerned resident. We actually send a team out to see how we could be helpful. Absolutely. Absolutely. So great to know now. It's not it's just for it's just for folks. But they they have a big impact, a small team, a big impact here here in the county. They do phenomenal work, and the skill set that they have to be able to engage with someone that they've never met, to get them to trust them and share private information is incredible.

Unknown 4:23

I live in the county, and I have driven around the county, and I've actually seen them in the median, in the rain, in the elements of engaging with individuals who may be unsheltered. Sometimes we have, you know, we've seen a parent with a child out and talking with them about services, assessing their needs, referring them so that they can get to a safe space and then, you know, engage them further for additional services.