LOINGMEADOW — During the Town Meeting on Nov. 4, the Longmeadow Food Pantry announced that they were close to running out of supplies.
With the government shutdown and SNAP benefits being cancelled, the food pantry’s demand in the community grew while supplies from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts became less.
Jamie Walker, food pantry coordinator of the Longmeadow Food Pantry, told Reminder Publishing that the food pantry has improved quite a bit since the Town Meeting due to a large community outreach, but as the need grows drastically, it’s hard to say what will bring them back into a comfortable position.
The Longmeadow Food Pantry assists people from many different communities, and Walker said the supplies change week to week. The pantry runs every Thursday from 2-4 p.m. and on Nov. 13, they accommodated 80 families.
On Nov. 7, Gov. Maura Healey announced that SNAP benefits in Massachusetts would be sent in full to the nearly 1.1 million people that are provided with them. Although the government reopened on Nov. 13, the lengthy legal battle for SNAP funding during the shutdown caused Massachusetts to be one of the 22 states involved in a temporary restraining order to prevent the Trump administration from seizing the funds.
Even with the shutdown ending and benefits looking to be back in place, the length of time they were gone and the loss of income over 43 days has had a large impact on millions around the country and many in the community.
Both veterans and older adults in Longmeadow lost their benefits and although many patrons say their cards have been reloaded, they still live with the fear of being cut off again.
“We just don’t know what’s going to happen with SNAP benefits,” Walker said. “We have supplies coming but it’s difficult for the community to give back right now because they’re also in a tight spot.”
On top of those who lost their SNAP benefits, many of the new patrons the pantry is currently seeing are government employees who lost their pay. From last November to now, the pantry has expanded to more than 120 regular patrons, many joining within the last couple months.
“We need to keep receiving supplies from the Western MA Food Bank,” Walker said. “Our pantry was just updated to a medium sized pantry, so hopefully that will increase what we receive but it’s been very tight. What we typically receive has been cut drastically.”
Walker says that the pantry has been fortunate to receive a heavy outpour of support from the community when help is asked for. Through churches and schools, the pantry was able to bring in 1,500 pounds of food, but with the demand rapidly going, that will most likely be gone within a month.
Last month, the pantry distributed over 5,000 pounds of food throughout the community, which Walker said speaks volumes to how fast food can deplete.
“The local food drives are incredibly important,” Walker said. “They get the community involved and bring awareness in general. Sparking interest has really increased our flow tremendously, even more than what the Food Bank of Western Mass. is offering.”
In the case that supplies did run low enough, Walker encourages people to visit as many other food pantries as they can.
“There’s at least 150 different pantries right around us,” Walker said. “They can try to be accommodated by any if we can’t accommodate them to their greatest needs.”
Walker hopes that once the SNAP benefits are fully secure and income starts to come back in, the food pantry can reach a more comfortable position.
Food donations are accepted by the pantry at the Longmeadow Adult Center and on the last Saturday of every month during their drive-through food drop-offs from 9-11 a.m. Monetary donations can also be made online, which are put towards purchasing food if needed.
