PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Tens of thousands of people who rely on SNAP benefits are facing a critical food crisis as the ongoing government shutdown has left their accounts at zero with no word on when funds will be restored.
WATCH BELOW: 'Food is important, every family needs it, it's essential to survive,' Anna Walker tells WPTV
WPTV's Joel Lopez has been covering the challenges faced by families throughout our community who depend on these essential benefits.
Many have told him their balances have been at zero this month, creating desperate situations for households already living paycheck to paycheck.
The impact extends far beyond just missing meals.
Staff at The Lord's Place, a local organization serving families in need, say the longer the delay in SNAP benefits lasts, the more families fall behind financially across all areas of their lives.
WATCH BELOW: Record number of seniors using SNAP in Palm Beach County
"The main struggle with our families is that they don't have emergency funds and reserves to fill in gaps," said Christine Frederick. "If they're behind right now, everything else is falling behind."
Frederick, who serves as CEO of The Lord's Place, warns that even if a deal is reached and SNAP users receive only partial funds, recovery will be extremely difficult.
"It's unrecoverable for those families at this time without any additional assistance from the Lord's Place," said Frederick.
A mother's struggle to feed her family
Anna Walker knows this reality all too well.
The mother of three teenage boys has been grappling with uncertainty about how to provide for her family during the holidays.
"I try to keep a positive outcome, I wanted to create a meal for Thanksgiving and Christmas but how am I gonna do that if I don't even know where I'm going to get my sources from?" said Walker.
Walker lost her husband two years ago and is now raising her boys alone.
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The $975 in SNAP funds she usually receives monthly to feed her family has been caught in limbo due to the government shutdown, creating an daunting situation as she prepares for the holidays.
"When they ask me, 'Hey, mom I'm hungry, what am I supposed to say?" said Walker, noting she would run out of SNAP benefits before the month would be over, even under normal circumstances.
Walker said she's not sure how much longer she can continue without SNAP benefits, but her message to leaders is clear.
"Food is important, every family needs it, it's essential to survive," said Walker.
Community steps up to help
Fortunately, Walker has been able to get help with food from The Lord's Place, which is working to address the growing food instability in our community.
The organization has ramped up operations, turning up the stoves and cooking extra food to meet the increased demand.
The Lord's Place is now serving 450 additional meals every week, expanding to campuses that didn't previously receive meal services.
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This expanded food and delivery is being funded through a generous $15,000 donation from GL Homes, allowing the organization to provide immediate relief to struggling families.
"We are excited to be able to do this, this is mission critical, these families need food they need healthy food and they need it immediately," said Sarah Alsofrom, the VP of community relations for GL Homes. "This was an easy 'yes' to say we'll help you, we're here to serve."
The Lord's Place told WPTV they have enough funding to provide the extra meals through the end of December, but staff are monitoring the ongoing need as they anticipate possibly continuing the additional meal service into the new year.
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