Credit: Salvation Army West via Flickr/CC2.0

Nearly 3 million Floridians—primarily children, seniors, and people with disabilities—will lose SNAP food assistance tomorrow unless the federal government shutdown ends.

About 250,000 households across the Tampa Bay region receive SNAP, according to Feeding Tampa Bay, including more than 43% Hillsborough County residents and 31% of Pinellas County residents.

Tampa Bay restaurants have stepped up to the plate, but food pantries still expect to be overwhelmed—with some residents seeking help for the first time.

Metropolitan Ministries leader Sarah Combs told WTSP she expects four times as many residents to seek help from the church, while food donations are down 60%.

Feeding Tampa Bay now has emergency response distribution sites in Tampa, Clearwater, Port Richey, Bradenton, Lakeland, Bartow and Zolfo Springs. Check feedingtampabay.org/snaprelief for the weekly distribution schedule at those locations.

The City of St. Petersburg announced a $20,000 donation Thursday to help the St. Petersburg Free Clinic feed an additional 3,200 Pinellas County residents throughout November. Pinellas residents can find more resources and food pantry locations through St. Pete Free Clinic at thespfc.org/map.

Grocery delivery apps have also stepped up nationally.

GoPuff is offering $50 in free groceries for SNAP customers who add their EBT card number in the app, with the company committing up to $10 million total. EBT customers can also get a $25 credit and free delivery with promo codes SNAPRELIEF1 (use Nov. 1-15) and SNAPRELIEF2 (if the shutdown continues Nov. 16-30). 

Last week, Instacart started offering active SNAP customers 50% off their next grocery order, up to $50 discount. All eligible customers who used EBT SNAP benefits to get groceries delivered via Instacart in October also received an individual discount code, committing up to $5 million in direct relief for SNAP households. Instacart also offers discounted memberships for SNAP recipients and no delivery fees on orders over $35.

DoorDash also announced it would waive service and delivery fees for an estimated 300,000 orders for SNAP recipients in November. The company also promised to deliver 1 million meals from food banks for free. More than 2.4 million DoorDash customers have a SNAP/EBT card linked to their account, according to the company.

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This is a developing post.

More than 70% of Florida SNAP beneficiaries are children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Millions could see benefits for November delayed if the U.S. government shutdown stretches into next month.

This article appears in Oct. 30 – Nov. 5, 2025.

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