As the federal government shutdown continued through October, numerous local food banks and community organizations braced for an anticipated surge in demand.
The federal government shutdown, which first began on Oct. 1 and is anticipated to conclude this week as lawmakers reach a deal, led to controversy in federal courts as the United States Department of Agriculture sought to provide partial 50% payments to beneficiaries of the SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, using emergency funds.
The Trump administration initially attempted to stop these efforts, instead waiting for the shutdown to conclude.
Alyssa Griffin, a third-year graduate student studying atmospheric science and food pantry manager of Feed the Pack, said she has seen increased demand since last year.
“During this academic year, we’re definitely seeing an increase in the number of visits than the last academic year,” Griffin said. “Probably by 100 or so, which is pretty substantial when you’re trying to feed 100 extra people.”
Feed the Pack is part of Pack Essentials, the program intended to support NC State students struggling with basic needs insecurity — such as in food or housing. While Pack Essentials requires an application, Feed the Pack is available to all students, faculty and staff, only requiring an intake form and OneCard. The pantry is located in North Hall.
Griffin said that on a typical monthly basis, the organization serves around 400 individuals per week, with 722 unique people visiting each month.
Cailin Peterson, cofounder of Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub, said they have also noticed an increase in need over the past several months.
“We’ve definitely gotten a lot more requests for resources, people showing up and taking food home, just trying to fill that need that we can as well as just the use of the space,” Peterson said.
Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub is a community nonprofit organization located on Hillsborough Street near downtown Raleigh. The organization differs from a traditional nonprofit in that it seeks to avoid a traditional top-down, hierarchical structure and lacks a formal organizational board.
“Our goal is basically just to fit the needs of the community in whatever way that we can, just be a point of connection and resources for people, both community members and organizations,” Peterson said.
Griffin said the lapse in SNAP funding has not yet caused a significant increase in need.
“I think because it just happened, it’s a little too soon,” Griffin said. “But because of the income requirements, hours of work that are required, it can be more difficult for North Carolina college students to qualify for SNAP in the state, which I think is why Feed the Pack then becomes so important because they don’t qualify for these other services.”
Feed the Pack is preparing for increased demand, for the holiday season and following the SNAP funding lapse, Griffin said. The organization can flex a limited amount of funds to increase supply and has a partnership with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
“On Saturday, which was that overwhelming deadline day of SNAP benefits being cut, we did prepare these little extra meal kits in the pantry for our patrons that visited that day,” Griffin said. “We attached a couple of pantry staples to those recipes for patrons to make.”
Feed the Pack primarily serves graduate and international students who are not eligible for SNAP, as most students do not have meal plans and live off-campus. Additionally, the pantry also serves staff, with 214 visitors denoting themselves as faculty and staff in October.
Feed the Pack aims to offer a “grocery-store experience” for guests, Griffin said, allowing independent shopping and individuals to choose their own groceries.
“Patrons have complete autonomy over what items they choose rather than some food banks have models where you’re just given a box,” Griffin said. “We want to make sure people with dietary restrictions or just food preferences, whether or not you have an allergen, you’re receiving the items you want to eat.”
Griffin said there are numerous ways to support the pantries’ work, including volunteering and spreading awareness on social media. Griffin also pointed out the Pantry Bowl, a competition between NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill.
“Following us on Instagram, reposting our content about changes in hours, volunteer opportunities, work opportunities,” Griffin said, “Right now, we’re running our biggest fundraiser every year, it’s called the Pantry Bowl. And it’s a friendly competition between UNC-Chapel Hill and us to see who can have the most unique number of donors to their pantries.”
Peterson urged donations to the Raleigh United Mutual Aid Hub and helping other groups combating food insecurity.
“There’s all types of groups doing the food insecurity work. Just finding one that works for you and helping them, for us, supporting us. We can always use more money,” Peterson said. “We’re, of course, always looking for volunteers now with so much going on, a lot of people are stretched really thin trying to help in all these different avenues.”
