As the federal government prepares to restore partial food assistance benefits, families across the Philadelphia area say they’re still struggling to make ends meet and are unsure when, or how much, help will arrive. 

Rachael Butcher, a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, resident who relies on SNAP benefits to feed her family of five, said she worries if her three kids and husband will have enough to eat this month.

“This is not a great time for all of us,” Butcher said.

Butcher saw the news Monday that the USDA announced plans to use contingency funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. But she says the announcement raised more questions than answers.

“I was totally confused,” she said. “I saw it, and I’m like, what does that mean? I don’t really know.”

Meanwhile, Butcher is getting groceries at the Family Promise Montco PA food pantry in Roslyn. As a full-time caretaker for her daughter with a disability, she can’t work. While her husband works full-time, she says it’s still not enough to cover all their needs.

“We’re grateful to have [the pantry] here,” she said.

Marsha Eichelberger, executive director at Family Promise, said her organization has seen more visitors since SNAP payments ran out over the weekend.

“For us, the chaos is so unsettling and uncertain, and that just makes it hard to do the work that we do,” she said.

Eichelberger says many of the people coming in are first-time visitors, unsure when they’ll see benefits again.

“Partial funding is better than no funding, but a real budget with real funding to support families is really what we need,” she said.

Eichelberger says the pantry is also missing out on critical state funding that helps them purchase dairy products like eggs and milk. Their walk-in refrigerator that is normally stocked with those items was empty Monday.

“Those were the things that were missing in the bags this evening,” Eichelberger said. “So not only are we seeing an increase in the need, but we have less resources.”

Despite the uncertainty, Butcher says she’s thankful for the support from local volunteers and organizations filling the gap.

“We’re really grateful that there’s places like this for us,” she said.

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