WACO, Texas (KWTX) – 3.5 million Texans may lose food assistance this weekend as a result of the government shutdown, forcing those who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program to turn to local food pantries.
This marks the first time the SNAP program has stopped since it began about 60 years ago. Some food banks said they have already surpassed 2023’s statistics of feeding more than 95,000 families so far this year.
Local food banks tell officials they are already spread thin and are concerned about the increased demand.
Food pantries see record numbers
At Shepherd Heart’s food distribution events in Central Texas, volunteers stock shopping carts with free food to accomplish their mission of filling the need in the community.
Kim Troutman, a guest at the food distribution events, said she is grateful for the assistance available to people who need food.
“I’m really grateful that they have this for people who are needing these foods. They’ve got a lot of nutritious food, a lot of healthy food,” Troutman said.
With SNAP benefits coming to a halt and the holidays approaching, Troutman said she expects to see more people waiting in line for assistance.
“I think it’s really sad and really scary for people,” she said. “I don’t think any time would be the right time for this. The middle class, the working class, we need help. We need support and we need our congress to be there for us.”
Organizations exceed previous year’s numbers
Robert Gager, CEO of Shepherd’s Heart, said October’s data shows the organization feeding more than 96,000 families so far, which surpasses 2023’s numbers of feeding 95,000 families.
He said Waco has 34,000 people who are at or below the poverty line, and they will likely lean on their group more.
“Food is our love language. We’ve got to have food during the holidays. We will do everything that we can, we’re adding food distributions and doing different things for people. We’re just trying to figure it out,” Gager said.
Bell County faces significant impact
The Salvation Army in Temple said 50,000 people in Bell County will be affected by the SNAP program halt.
“We’re seeing more people come into our food pantry in a little bit of a panic because they don’t have the funds,” Salvation Army development manager, Marcine Chambers said.
The organization said supply challenges are already evident.
“We get our delivery every Wednesday and usually by Friday or that following Monday, we’ll be out of meat already,” Social services coordinator, Tiffany Gregg said.
The Salvation Army said some feeding groups are worried there is not enough supply to feed the large demand.
“It is stressful because we are here to help and when we don’t have the outside services to kind of step in, that’s where most of it is put on us. We try to do what we can, but this is where we need volunteers and we need outside sources to donate their time,” said Gregg.
Legislative response
Lawmakers considered a bill to keep SNAP benefits flowing amid the shutdown, but Senate Republican leadership has not scheduled a vote on it.
However, state WIC offices have announced they will continue to be operational and issue benefits.
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