Hunger did not end with the Government opening and #SNAP benefits being paid. As I wrote earlier this month www.dailykos.com/...
ABC reporting here.
Benefits may have returned but people could rely on assistance from food pantries as they catch up on late or missed payments.
From Common Dreams. The shutdown created the conditions for a natural experiment where we could see what the USA would experience without SNAP outside of the conditions of a laboratory. We learned that the 12% of Americans who rely on SNAP find it vital for their household budgets.
Helping others benefits everyone “We’re coming to an age where we need to lean on our neighbors more than what we’ve had to,” Young said. “It connected me with community, meeting other people while out there, and also telling others about it so they can benefit from it, too.”
From the above article: “I was told that if you won’t share a hot dog, you won’t share a steak, so it just means a lot to make sure you take care of those around you,” Menefee said. “The community that you have is the community that you’re in.”
Little Free Pantries are popping up and existing ones getting more donations as people realize that others in their Communities need help. Caledonia food pantry sparks surge in 'little free' sites across the area
Community support is growing, Charlotte, NC The Little Free Pantry initiative aims to help neighbors access food close to home by encouraging the establishment of small, community-based food pantries.
Chicago “I still cry when I think about the response we've gotten from this community, how people have come together and lifted each other up in these uncertain times,” she said. “It reminds me why I like to work with the public.”
Food Banks can’t do it alone and people realize this and are stepping up to fill their Communities needs, through increased donations and other ways. Even though Food Banks have more “purchasing power” writing a check or making an on-line donation does not create the same Community as actually going out and helping your area either by filling a pantry or volunteering at a Food Bank. It’s a great antidote for feeling lonely. This morning, when we got to our neighborhood Little Free Pantry, it had new shelf paper and one shelf was already filled.
