As the government shutdown reaches day 23, local food banks are preparing for potential impacts if SNAP benefits are withheld. This could affect millions of families across the country, and organizations like the Community Cooperative in Fort Myers are stepping up their efforts.
Stefanie Ink-Edwards, CEO of Community Cooperative, highlighted the urgency of their situation.
“We’re at really high capacities right now, even before the SNAP benefits potentially going away,” said Ink-Edwards. “If that does happen, I can tell you, we’re going to see a huge spike in demand, and we’re going to need more support, more food drives more money to buy food, because there’s going to be more people who are in so much more.”
Community Cooperative runs on donations from the community and is focused on ensuring they have enough resources to meet the demand, especially with the holidays approaching.
“I never want a client to come in here and feel like, oh, save it for someone who needs it more than me,” said Ink-Edwards. “So I want to ensure that we always have full shelves, which is getting harder and harder to do right, getting those resources in and then, of course, keeping up with the demand of the clientele who are just having a hard time keeping food on their own tables.”
Ink-Edwards emphasized the importance of donations.
“Whenever I’m talking to folks and they go, oh, what should I try and donate? And I say, whatever you buy for your family,” said Ink-Edwards. “I like to have things in my pantry to feed my kids, the same as other people coming here, they want those items as well.”
With Thanksgiving around the corner, every day remains busy for Community Cooperative. Ink-Edwards hopes for a resolution to the shutdown and continued community support to ensure that families can keep food on their tables.