Food banks are preparing for a massive surge in demand amid the looming possibility that federal food assistance programs will be halted due to the government shutdown, which has entered its fourth week.
Many food pantries have expressed concern that they will not be able to meet the increased demand resulting from the halt in federal aid.
From The New York Times:
With no end in sight to the nearly monthlong federal government shutdown, funding for the nation’s largest food assistance program, known as SNAP, will disappear at the start of November, according to the Department of Agriculture. On Friday, the Trump administration said in a memo that it would not tap into contingency funds to keep payments flowing to states.
That means that the roughly 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — may soon have to find other ways to feed themselves and their families.
Many of them will turn to local food pantries. Anti-hunger organizations and food banks say the surging demand will almost certainly exceed their capacity to respond. And the impact could resonate well beyond the shutdown.
“When that social safety net breaks above us, we will be there to do as much as we can,” said Andrea Williams, president of the Oregon Food Bank, which helps supply food to roughly 1,200 pantries and meal sites across Oregon and southwest Washington. “And it will not be enough.”
There are more than 47 million Americans who, at some point during the year, face food insecurity — meaning they do not have enough to eat and do not know where their next meal will come from — according to the Agriculture Department’s latest report. There are millions more who don’t fully fit that definition but nonetheless turn to charitable food programs for support, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs.
Food banks have already been overwhelmed by rising grocery prices, which have driven more Americans to rely on these organizations to feed their families. In parts of Oregon, visits to food pantries have risen by up to 50 percent. In states like Virginia, California, Louisiana, and others, there are long lines of people waiting to get food — and many leave empty-handed. “
Food banks are gearing up for a surge in demand as the federal food stamp program is set to pause during the government shutdown.
— Jeff Charles, The Armadillo Slayer🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) October 27, 2025
But many are concerned that they will not be able to meet their communities' needs. pic.twitter.com/roZKU37qsV
Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have repeatedly failed to agree on terms that would reopen the federal government. Democrats have dug in their heels even in the face of holding back food stamps and other assistance to their constituents.
Democrats are blaming President Donald Trump for the impending disaster and for traveling abroad during the crisis. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) told CNN that “This is all Trump.”
The USDA posted on its website, “Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”
This development could be disastrous for tens of millions of Americans. But there is an underlying reality that most are not discussing: This shouldn’t be happening in the first place.
The reason why so many Americans might face hunger is directly tied to the expansion of government, which was not created to have people depend on it for sustenance. Before the state began sticking its greasy claws into our lives, people would turn to a myriad of sources for help. These included local, private, and community organizations and mutual aid societies. Churches played a prominent role in ensuring that people did not go hungry.
In short, people took it upon themselves to help others rather than look to Uncle Sam for the ultimate solution. If this were still the case, it would not matter whether the government was operational. People would still have food. Now, since we, as a society, have abdicated our responsibility to the state, it is the state that controls whether millions of Americans have food on the table.
This is not the way the Founding Fathers envisioned America. In fact, they would only support limited, locally-administered relief programs for those in need. Hunger is society’s problem, not the government’s. Now, because of the growth of government, those who want to step up and help their communities might not have the resources necessary to do so — because the government has all the cards, and is subject to the whims of political parties, not the people.
This problem, like many others, demonstrates why bloated government causes more problems than it solves — by design.