Desiree Torres relies on federal assistance to buy food for her two children. But come Saturday the single mother, along with nearly 3 million other Floridians, likely will lose that help due to the federal government’s shutdown.
“I’m literally struggling to make ends meet. So now that that’s getting cut off, it’s kind of ridiculous to try and survive,” said Torres, 31, who earns $15 an hour as a cashier.
The ongoing government shutdown means the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called SNAP or food stamps, will run out of funding this weekend, and so far leaders in Washington seem unlikely to resolve the logjam before payments are halted. A federal judge on Thursday, however, was scheduled to hear a legal challenge aiming to force the Trump administration to continue funding the program that is a key safety net for 42 million Americans.
Several states, including Louisiana, New Mexico and Vermont, plan to help fund SNAP if the funding lapses. But Florida has made no such provision, telling SNAP recipients in an online message, “SNAP benefits for the month of November will not be issued until federal funding is restored.”
Orange County and a host of charities are trying to fill the gap, but they worry a crisis will soon be unfolding, one that will overwhelm food banks and leave thousands of low-income residents, including families with children, senior citizens and people with disabilities, without food.
“We need every church, every mosque, every temple, every little league baseball team, every neighborhood association, and every boy scout and girl scout troop to be organizing food drives this weekend,” said Eric Gray, executive director of the Christian Services Center of Central Florida, speaking at a press conference Wednesday held at Orange County’s administrative center to highlight the problem. “That’s the sense of enormity we are feeling right now. That’s the size and scope of this.”
Households earning below 200% of the federal poverty level — or making about $64,300 for a family of four — qualify for SNAP. About 39% of participants are children and 20% are seniors, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. The amount of the monthly benefit depends on the size of a family, starting with an average $200 payment for a single person.
SNAP beneficiaries can use the money, accessible through a payment card, to buy meat, produce, dairy products, bread and cereal.
Torres receives $700 a month from SNAP. Without that support, she said she would not have enough money to feed her children, ages four and nine. The monthly rent on her family’s Orlando apartment is $1,600 — and that eats up more than half her pay, leaving barely enough for her other bills.
“Literally every paycheck I’m pushing to make ends meet. So now that the food stamps are being cut off, it’s hard because now I’m touching the $15 an hour I’m making to buy food for the kids,” she said.
Produce at the United Against Poverty Member Grocery, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Torres is a cashier at United Against Poverty Orlando, an agency that offers services to low-income individuals and families and has a grocery center where qualifying members can buy food at a discount. A carton of eggs, for instance, is $1.99.
Torres shops at the store to stretch her SNAP benefits.
Executive Director Anjali Vaya said she is seeing a surge in customers at United Against Poverty’s store due to the pending halt in SNAP payments. She worries about her agency’s ability to keep up with the ballooning demand.
On Wednesday afternoon, there were about 50 people in line to check out.
“This is not normal. And you can see the shopping carts are full,” Vaya said. “Some clients have begun hoarding groceries. I think there is panic.”
On a typical Monday, Vaya added, the grocery store would sell about $7,000 in discounted groceries. This Monday, it sold more than $13,000.
“As soon as we get the product to the floor, it’s gone. Everything disappears,” said Egypt Patterson, manager of the grocery center.
Lisa Kelly, a single mom with 6 children, also shops at the discount center to stretch her SNAP benefits. Without SNAP, she will be looking for more help.
“Right now, I’m spending very slowly and come next month I’ll probably have to go and find some food pantries,” Kelly said.
Karla Radka, CEO of the Senior Resource Alliance, fears the SNAP shutdown will hurt older residents with limited incomes. Her agency has a hotline for Central Florida seniors in crisis and already one of the most frequent calls they get are from seniors looking for food.
She worries about the sacrifices people might make when they lose their SNAP benefits.
“Seniors will sometimes make cuts on their medication to pay for food or they will do other things that are not conducive to a dignified way of living,” Radka said.
Her agency began reaching out to corporate donors this week. So far, they have raised about $20,000 to help pay for food for seniors.
SNAP is a crucial resource for many low-income residents, said Stephanie Palacios, director of advocacy and government relations for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
The food bank, which buys and then ships food to food banks across the region, distributed 82 million meals last year.
But for every one meal Second Harvest provides, SNAP benefits provide nine, she noted.
“That is simply a gap that we cannot fill by Saturday,” said Palacios, speaking at the Wednesday press conference.
Customer carts at the cashier line of the United Against Poverty Member Grocery, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
The head of an Osceola County charity made a similar plea earlier this week. If families “trying to put food on their table” lose that benefit, they will likely turn to food pantries, said Rev. Mary Downey, CEO of the group Hope Partnership.
“We anticipate that our local food pantries, including us, will be in crisis,” she said.
Heart of Florida United Way has received about 1,600 calls in the last 90 days from Orange residents seeking food assistance.
“We know that those numbers are likely to grow as the SNAP benefits change takes effect,” said Kelly Astro, the agency’s senior vice president of community impact.
Orange County provides Second Harvest $5.3 million in annual funding. The food bank uses that money to buy food at a bulk discount and then distributes it to nearly 400 partner agencies, including the Salvation Army, the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and church-run food pantries.
Orange Mayor Jerry Demings said at the press conference that he will ask the county commission to approve an additional $1 million to help impact those hurt by the SNAP program’s suspension.
He said he is also sending a letter to DeSantis that will urge the governor “to do what he can do to access any state emergency funds”.
But dozens of Democratic lawmakers have already sent similar letters, and DeSantis has so far refused to draw from those funds.
In the meantime, Demings and other officials are asking residents to make donations through Second Harvest’s website www.feedhopenow.org
“One thing I like about living in Orange County is that we are a compassionate community. We come together when we need to during a crisis. And that’s what we’re asking today. As a community, let us come together,” Demings said.