JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the government shutdown stretches into another week, more families are struggling to put food on the table.
Catholic Charities Jacksonville says demand at its food pantry is surging — forcing the organization to make difficult decisions just to keep up.
What used to be a busy food distribution process is quickly turning into a crisis response, according to Eileen Souter, of Catholic Charities Jacksonville.
The lines for food have been growing longer every week since the start of the shutdown.
“Just this week, we’re starting to see people who are reporting that they have lost their SNAP benefits,” Souter said. “We had someone in our line yesterday who said they were supposed to get their food stamps on Monday, and they didn’t show up. They needed to come to the food pantry to fill that gap.”
Souter said the loss of federal food assistance during the shutdown has pushed more families to local pantries — and with the holiday season approaching, shelves are starting to run low.
“We’ve seen a decrease in the amount of free food that we can receive from the food bank, Feeding Northeast Florida, and that has affected our pantry and our ability to provide as robust an offering,” she said.
The organization has also had to scale back how much food families receive. Souter said the average family used to get enough food for 21 days but now receives enough for only 14.
In some cases, the food bank has had to turn families away.
Catholic Charities distributes food twice a week at its Bernita Street location in Arlington. Souter said the need has become even more urgent as children miss out on meals they normally receive at school.
“There are children waking up who aren’t able to eat breakfast,” she said. “We serve children through our weekend hunger backpack program who get almost all of their nutrition at school, so we provide those backpacks on Fridays so that they have something to eat through the weekend.”
When asked about the busiest time of year, Souter said there really isn’t one — because “hunger doesn’t take a holiday.”
Souter said now is the time for the community to step up. She’s encouraging churches, civic groups and local businesses to start food drives or donate directly.
For more information on how to help or start a food drive, visit www.ccbjax.org.