Food Insecurity

Many Indigenous families rely on SNAP benefits, and they struggled during the government shutdown. We hear from tribal members on how they tried to fill the gaps, and why they still worry.

Private event raises $1 million Nov. 7 for Harry Chapin Food Bank

Harry Chapin food bank breaks ground on a new distribution center in Fort Myers that will double its capacity to feed the hungry in this area.

Free bus rides have been offered to out of town grocers after Immokalee lost its only full-service grocery store in October.

State officials are working to restore full SNAP benefits to millions of people after the long U.S. government shutdown has finally ended. Some state officials said Thursday that full November SNAP benefits should be available to spend on groceries by Friday, if not sooner. A series of court rulings and shifting policies from the Trump administration had led to inconsistent distribution of November benefits. About two-thirds of states had issued only partial or no benefits before the shutdown ended Wednesday night. The federal food program serves about 42 million people in lower-income households.

Sanibel Captiva Community Bank holds a food drive for Thanksgiving.

As the current Government Shutdown becomes the longest in US history, some federal programs have been caught in the crosshairs. SNAP was left without funding.

In light of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, local nonprofit organizations are feeling the brunt of the impacts as a lapse in SNAP benefits persist causing individuals as well as families to function without food for extended periods of time. Find out how one organization in particular is taking extra steps to help not only its clients, but also other local organizations weathering the storm of SNAP uncertainty.

Almost two thousand emergency meals supplied from the state of Florida are being delivered to Southwest Florida food pantries today. Harry Chapin workers loaded up pallets on trucks to deliver the non-perishables to pantries in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties.

President Donald Trump's administration is demanding that states reverse full SNAP benefits issued under recent court orders. The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, affecting 42 million Americans who rely on the program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's demand follows warnings from over two dozen states about potential "catastrophic operational disruptions" if they aren't reimbursed for benefits authorized before the stay. Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general had sued to maintain the program, winning favorable rulings last week. Wisconsin, for example, loaded benefits for 700,000 residents but now faces financial strain.