“The funding will help partners purchase food, expand service hours, and stabilize access while public functions resume,” the Pinellas Community Foundation said.<\/p>\n
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 An organization in Pinellas County announced it will give $150,000 in emergency funds to support local food banks and neighborhood pantries<\/a> as the government shutdown<\/a> continues and food assistance remains uncertain.<\/p>\n Nov. 1 marks the date for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a> to expire, as judges<\/a> have ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to fund the program.<\/p>\n Amid the uncertainty of whether or not the program will be funded or if the government shutdown will come to an end soon, the Pinellas Community Foundation (PCF) said it is deploying the money to help local partners respond to a surge of neighbors seeking help and reports of increased demand tied to economic pressure and federal funding disruptions.<\/p>\n PCF said in a statement that “97,000 Pinellas residents \u2014 about ten percent of the county \u2014 receive SNAP benefits. Even a brief disruption can send thousands of families to food programs.”<\/p>\n The organization noted that federal employees and contractors in the county can also be affected as paychecks<\/a> are paused, noting that the funding is a short-term action to help people.<\/p>\n \u201cPrivate philanthropy cannot replace government funding,\u201d said Duggan Cooley, CFRE, CEO of Pinellas Community Foundation. \u201cThis is not about substituting for public responsibility. In moments like this, we act to stabilize. Our goal is to help local systems and families hold on until public functions resume.\u201d<\/p>\n