With this being the first week people on unemployment will not receive the $600 add on each week, food banks believe another program will see a rise in applications. 

This is called the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP. It is used to help people in economic distress buy groceries and other supplies. 

There are two reasons food banks believe an application increase will happen. One is due to the unemployment benefits ending, in which people may have to look for alternative methods to find funds. 

"We fully expect this [SNAP] need to continue", said Zachary Webb, Development Director at the Second Harvest Food Bank. "In fact, in August and September, we are still really concerned". 

Webb also says if students remain at home during the fall and do not have access to free or reduced lunches, the demand for benefits could rise even higher. 

The second reason for a potential uptick in applications is thanks to the exhaustion of the $600 a week unemployment program. 

People are eligible to be on unemployment and SNAP at the same time. However, regulations state that a person must include their unemployment in their income when applying for SNAP benefits. 

Currently, the maximum monthly income for a household of one is $1,354. Any more than that, and a person can't receive SNAP payments for that month. If someone were to receive the $600 payments each week, it would total $2,400, much more than the maximum amount. 

Despite the new opportunity for people to apply for SNAP, Webb knows how difficult it will be for individuals to lose the weekly check. 

"The face of hunger is changing in Erie, and it looks like underemployment", said Webb. "That extra $600 a week was significant in helping them. We anticipate it will be a challenge for people going forward". 

The latest stats from the state of Pennsylvania show an increase of about 5-6% in SNAP applications since the start of the pandemic. 

This story was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.