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Tag: food banks

  • Taylor Swift donates $1 million to Feeding America, group says

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    Pop star Taylor Swift has donated $1 million to Feeding America just days before Christmas, the nonprofit said Tuesday.

    Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said the organization, which oversees a network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs, was “incredibly grateful” for the gift. 

    “This holiday season, (Swift’s) continued support is a powerful reminder of what is possible when we unite to end hunger,” Babineaux-Fontenot said on Instagram. “When we join together alongside people facing hunger, we can make sure families have a full table this holiday season and beyond.”

    Swift has not publicly commented on the donation. Swift’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News. 

    Roughly 14% of U.S. households reported being food insecure between January and October of 2025, Purdue University researchers recently found. Babineaux-Fontenot said during an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” last month that Feeding America has been seeing more demand than it can keep up with. 

    “Unfortunately the lines are longer than the food that is available,” she said. 

    It’s not the first time Swift has made headlines for her donations. The singer-songwriter donated $100,000 to the family of a local radio host who was killed in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade in February 2024. Swift also donated $1 million to Tennessee tornado relief in 2023. 

    The self-made billionaire also gifted large bonuses to the dozens of crew members who were part of her record-breaking Eras Tour.

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  • Why Minnesota food shelves say the shutdown’s impacts are far from over

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    The federal government shutdown is over, and SNAP benefits are back for the more than 400,000 Minnesotans who rely on them – but Twin Cities food shelves say the impact on them is far from over.

    In Eagan, The Open Door Food Shelf is preparing to provide emergency help Saturday to nearly 500 households. The additional service began Nov. 1 when SNAP funding paused, but will continue each Saturday through the month of November.

    “There is not enough support for people in our community that need it,” said The Open Door Executive Director Jason Viana. “The shutdown has changed things in a similar way to how the pandemic changed things.”

    Viana says since the shutdown, appointment wait times have increased by an additional week-and-a-half, with families now waiting 6 ½ weeks to access services. Thanks to an outpouring of donations, The Open Door can provide “go bags” of food to anyone who stops in, but the increase in appointment time is seen as a negative lasting impact of the government shutdown.

    “This current situation – this crisis that was created, it seems to have ended. I would more likely say it’s been paused,” Viana said. “We need the government to make a long-term funding agreement to remove the uncertainty. I think what a lot of our families are feeling is that people don’t care.”

    At SACA Food Shelf in Anoka County, leaders are wondering how they’ll meet the increased need. By October, they’d already had nearly 5,000 more visits – all with less food to give away. Year over year, they’ve been able to give nearly 200,000 fewer pounds of food.

    “There’s so many people coming in – people we haven’t seen for years,” said SACA Co-Director Dave Rudolph. “We have a finite amount of food – we just have to make sure that we have enough for everybody.”

    Both food shelves say a long-term federal plan to address hunger is needed.

    “It’s all needed – it really helps. People have stepped up, community has stepped up, but we need more,” Rudolph said. 

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  • A historic shutdown is nearly over. It leaves no winners and much frustration

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    The longest government shutdown in history could conclude as soon as today, Day 43, with almost no one happy with the final result.Democrats didn’t get the health insurance provisions they demanded added to the spending deal. And Republicans, who control the levers of power in Washington, didn’t escape blame, according to polls and some state and local elections that went poorly for them.The fallout of the shutdown landed on millions of Americans, including federal workers who went without paychecks and airline passengers who had their trips delayed or canceled. An interruption in nutrition assistance programs contributed to long lines at food banks and added emotional distress going into the holiday season.The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. All other funding would be extended until the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finish additional spending bills.Here’s a look at how the shutdown started and is likely to end.What led to the shutdownDemocrats made several demands to win their support for a short-term funding bill, but the central one was an extension of an enhanced tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces.The tax credit was boosted during the COVID response, again through Joe Biden’s big energy and health care bill, and it’s set to expire at the end of December. Without it, premiums on average will more than double for millions of Americans. More than 2 million people would lose health insurance coverage altogether next year, the Congressional Budget Office projected.“Never have American families faced a situation where their health care costs are set to double — double in the blink of an eye,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.While Democrats called for negotiations on the matter, Republicans said a funding bill would need to be passed first.“Republicans are ready to sit down with Democrats just as soon as they stop holding the government hostage to their partisan demands,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.Thune eventually promised Democrats a December vote on the tax credit extension to help resolve the standoff, but many Democrats demanded a guaranteed fix, not just a vote that is likely to fail.Thune’s position was much the same as the one Schumer took back in October 2013, when Republicans unsuccessfully sought to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act in exchange for funding the government. “Open up all of the government, and then we can have a fruitful discussion,” Schumer said then.Democratic leaders under pressureThe first year of President Donald Trump’s second term has seen more than 200,000 federal workers leave their job through firings, forced relocations or the administration’s deferred resignation program, according to the Partnership for Public Service. Whole agencies that don’t align with the administration’s priorities have been dismantled. And billions of dollars previously approved by Congress have been frozen or canceled.Democrats have had to rely on the courts to block some of Trump’s efforts, but they have been unable to do it through legislation. They were also powerless to stop Trump’s big tax cut and immigration crackdown bill that Republicans helped pay for by cutting future spending on safety net programs such as Medicaid and SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.The Democrats’ struggles to blunt the Trump administration’s priorities has prompted calls for the party’s congressional leadership to take a more forceful response.Schumer experienced that firsthand after announcing in March that he would support moving ahead with a funding bill for the 2025 budget year. There was a protest at his office, calls from progressives that he be primaried in 2028 and suggestions that the Democratic Party would soon be looking for new leaders.This time around, Schumer demanded that Republicans negotiate with Democrats to get their votes on a spending bill. The Senate rules, he noted, requires bipartisan support to meet the 60-vote threshold necessary to advance a spending bill.But those negotiations did not occur, at least not with Schumer. Republicans instead worked with a small group of eight Democrats to tee up a short-term bill to fund the government generally at current levels and accused Schumer of catering to the party’s left flank when he refused to go along.“The Senate Democrats are afraid that the radicals in their party will say that they caved,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at one of his many daily press conferences.The blame gameThe political stakes in the shutdown are huge, which is why leaders in both parties have held nearly daily press briefings to shape public opinion.Roughly 6 in 10 Americans say Trump and Republicans in Congress have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.At least three-quarters of Americans believe each deserves at least a “moderate” share of blame, underscoring that no one was successfully evading responsibility.Both parties looked to the Nov. 4 elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere for signs of how the shutdown was influencing public opinion. Democrats took comfort in their overwhelming successes. Trump called it a “big factor, negative” for Republicans. But it did not change the GOP’s stance on negotiating. Instead, Trump ramped up calls for Republicans to end the filibuster in the Senate, which would pretty much eliminate the need for the majority party to ever negotiate with the minority.Damage of the shutdownThe Congressional Budget Office says that the negative impact on the economy will be mostly recovered once the shutdown ends, but not entirely. It estimated the permanent economic loss at about $11 billion for a six-week shutdown.Beyond the numbers, though, the shutdown created a cascade of troubles for many Americans. Federal workers missed paychecks, causing financial and emotional stress. Travelers had their flights delayed and at times canceled. People who rely on safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw their benefits stopped, and Americans throughout the country lined up for meals at food banks.”This dysfunction is damaging enough to our constituents and economy here at home, but it also sends a dangerous message to the watching world,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. “It demonstrates to our allies that we are an unreliable partner, and it signals to our adversaries that we can’t work together to meet even the most fundamental responsibilities of Congress.”

    WASHINGTON —

    The longest government shutdown in history could conclude as soon as today, Day 43, with almost no one happy with the final result.

    Democrats didn’t get the health insurance provisions they demanded added to the spending deal. And Republicans, who control the levers of power in Washington, didn’t escape blame, according to polls and some state and local elections that went poorly for them.

    The fallout of the shutdown landed on millions of Americans, including federal workers who went without paychecks and airline passengers who had their trips delayed or canceled. An interruption in nutrition assistance programs contributed to long lines at food banks and added emotional distress going into the holiday season.

    The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. All other funding would be extended until the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finish additional spending bills.

    Here’s a look at how the shutdown started and is likely to end.

    What led to the shutdown

    Democrats made several demands to win their support for a short-term funding bill, but the central one was an extension of an enhanced tax credit that lowers the cost of health coverage obtained through Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

    The tax credit was boosted during the COVID response, again through Joe Biden’s big energy and health care bill, and it’s set to expire at the end of December. Without it, premiums on average will more than double for millions of Americans. More than 2 million people would lose health insurance coverage altogether next year, the Congressional Budget Office projected.

    “Never have American families faced a situation where their health care costs are set to double — double in the blink of an eye,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

    While Democrats called for negotiations on the matter, Republicans said a funding bill would need to be passed first.

    “Republicans are ready to sit down with Democrats just as soon as they stop holding the government hostage to their partisan demands,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

    Thune eventually promised Democrats a December vote on the tax credit extension to help resolve the standoff, but many Democrats demanded a guaranteed fix, not just a vote that is likely to fail.

    Thune’s position was much the same as the one Schumer took back in October 2013, when Republicans unsuccessfully sought to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act in exchange for funding the government. “Open up all of the government, and then we can have a fruitful discussion,” Schumer said then.

    Democratic leaders under pressure

    The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term has seen more than 200,000 federal workers leave their job through firings, forced relocations or the administration’s deferred resignation program, according to the Partnership for Public Service. Whole agencies that don’t align with the administration’s priorities have been dismantled. And billions of dollars previously approved by Congress have been frozen or canceled.

    Democrats have had to rely on the courts to block some of Trump’s efforts, but they have been unable to do it through legislation. They were also powerless to stop Trump’s big tax cut and immigration crackdown bill that Republicans helped pay for by cutting future spending on safety net programs such as Medicaid and SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.

    The Democrats’ struggles to blunt the Trump administration’s priorities has prompted calls for the party’s congressional leadership to take a more forceful response.

    Schumer experienced that firsthand after announcing in March that he would support moving ahead with a funding bill for the 2025 budget year. There was a protest at his office, calls from progressives that he be primaried in 2028 and suggestions that the Democratic Party would soon be looking for new leaders.

    This time around, Schumer demanded that Republicans negotiate with Democrats to get their votes on a spending bill. The Senate rules, he noted, requires bipartisan support to meet the 60-vote threshold necessary to advance a spending bill.

    But those negotiations did not occur, at least not with Schumer. Republicans instead worked with a small group of eight Democrats to tee up a short-term bill to fund the government generally at current levels and accused Schumer of catering to the party’s left flank when he refused to go along.

    “The Senate Democrats are afraid that the radicals in their party will say that they caved,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at one of his many daily press conferences.

    The blame game

    The political stakes in the shutdown are huge, which is why leaders in both parties have held nearly daily press briefings to shape public opinion.

    Roughly 6 in 10 Americans say Trump and Republicans in Congress have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

    At least three-quarters of Americans believe each deserves at least a “moderate” share of blame, underscoring that no one was successfully evading responsibility.

    Both parties looked to the Nov. 4 elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere for signs of how the shutdown was influencing public opinion. Democrats took comfort in their overwhelming successes. Trump called it a “big factor, negative” for Republicans. But it did not change the GOP’s stance on negotiating. Instead, Trump ramped up calls for Republicans to end the filibuster in the Senate, which would pretty much eliminate the need for the majority party to ever negotiate with the minority.

    Damage of the shutdown

    The Congressional Budget Office says that the negative impact on the economy will be mostly recovered once the shutdown ends, but not entirely. It estimated the permanent economic loss at about $11 billion for a six-week shutdown.

    Beyond the numbers, though, the shutdown created a cascade of troubles for many Americans. Federal workers missed paychecks, causing financial and emotional stress. Travelers had their flights delayed and at times canceled. People who rely on safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw their benefits stopped, and Americans throughout the country lined up for meals at food banks.

    “This dysfunction is damaging enough to our constituents and economy here at home, but it also sends a dangerous message to the watching world,” said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan. “It demonstrates to our allies that we are an unreliable partner, and it signals to our adversaries that we can’t work together to meet even the most fundamental responsibilities of Congress.”

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  • Cyclists gather to help feed Minnesotans

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    SNAP benefits for Minnesotans have come back, as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history continues.

    Attorney General Keith Ellison was among those who sued the Trump Administration to restore the benefits, after they were paused on November 1. 440,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, for food.

    People in Minneapolis came together Saturday morning to support those who lost SNAP benefits for a week. Cyclists gathered at Angry Catfish bike shop for “Cranksgiving.” They biked to collect food for those who need it most.

    “With all the news, I figured if I can help out, I’m gonna do it,” said Kenneth Hammon of Minneapolis. “What better way to spend a Saturday morning?”

    “It’s incredible to see folks come together in this space,” said Jarrod Bunk of Angry Catfish.

    The Groveland Emergency Food Shelf says they’ve seen an uptick in visitors.

    “Since March of 2025, the demographic of folks using our food shelf is very different from ever before,” said Sharon Abel of Groveland Food Shelf in an October 14 interview.

    “We’ve had every day, since we last spoke, 15 or more people who’ve never used our food shelf before. Ever,” Abel added on Saturday.

    Donations from Saturday’s ride went to Groveland and another organization, Sanctuary Supply Depot.

    “It is also very overwhelming to handle all the people who want to come and help right now,” said Abel.

    On Saturday, Governor Tim Walz announced on social media that: “November SNAP benefits in Minnesota have been restored. We will not let Minnesotans go hungry.”

    “I really hope in all of this we can find ways to be joyful,” said Abel. “The greatest form of resistance is joy.”

    U.S. Senators convened for a rare Saturday session aimed at ending the government shutdown, with no signs of an imminent breakthrough.

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    Frankie McLister

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  • Food banks stretched thin amid government shutdown

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    A pair of federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must tap into a contingency fund to continue making payments for SNAP, which was set to have its funding expire. Still, some food banks are already struggling to keep up with demand. Kati Weis reports.

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  • Long Island food banks to aid furloughed, unpaid federal workers Monday | Long Island Business News

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    SCCC breaks ground on auto training center

    SCCC breaks ground for 38,000-square-foot Empire Automotive Training Center, designed to boost Long Island’s[…]

    October 31, 2025

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  • With 44,000 Minnesotans set to lose SNAP benefits, food shelves prep for demand

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    In just two days, 42 million Americans who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for food will lose them. Minnesota food shelves continue to stock away, day by day.

    “We need to meet a need and gap for food right now” said Joe Boyd, pastor of Grace Fellowship in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

    The gap, Boyd says, is because of SNAP. Grace Fellowship is trying to get ahead of expected demand come Nov. 1.

    “Coming this weekend, there will be families that are depending on that to provide food, mainly for children,” Boyd said.

    He is calling on the community to band together, too. Because of the federal government shutdown, more than 44,000 Minnesotans will lose benefits.

    Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP), a local food assistance nonprofit, says it costs them $85,000 a month to help the families already coming to them — that’s before an expected surge when SNAP benefits run out.

    “For many of us, the holidays are coming in, we’re thinking about presents, holiday meals,” said Kalleah Kennedy of CEAP. “For a lot of our neighbors coming in, they’re thinking about what can I get on the table right now.”

    If you’re looking to help out, they say financial and non-parishable donations are key.

    “If everybody does something, nobody has to do everything and a lot of people get helped in the process,” Boyd said.

    Click here to learn more about CEAP and how you can help.

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    Frankie McLister

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  • Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announces $4M in emergency funding for food shelves amid shutdown

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    Minnesota’s food shelves are set to get a funding boost amid surging demand stemming from the ongoing government shutdown.

    Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday announced millions in emergency funding to fight food insecurity in the state.

    “We’re using our contingency accounts to add $4 million to the food banks across Minnesota,” Walz said. “This will be a bridge. I want to be very clear, it will not make up and backfill everything that is going to drop off starting on Saturday. We do not have that capacity.”

    More than 440,000 Minnesotans will lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits on Saturday without a solution to the shutdown. The state’s food banks are bracing for an increased need for their services, even as they struggle to meet the existing need. The Food Group, a Minnesota nonprofit, said visits to food shelves in the state rose 18% between 2023 and 2024.

    The Trump administration has said it will not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep SNAP benefits flowing. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.

    Walz accused the Trump administration of prioritizing a new White House ballroom over funding food assistance. He also called on Congress to get the government running again.

    “The solution to this is, one, end the shutdown and go back to work,” Walz said. “Two, quit scapegoating people who are hungry and making up stories that are not true and do your job.”

    The shutdown began Oct. 1 and is now the second-longest on record.

    The Associated Press and

    Esme Murphy

    contributed to this report.

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    WCCO Staff

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  • Minnesota food shelves fear they won’t have enough to offer if SNAP benefits run out

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    Hunger is coming to Minnesota, local food banks warn, as SNAP benefits are scheduled to run out in days if the federal government shutdown does not end. 

    Forty-two million people will lose benefits nationwide, including more than 440,000 Minnesotans, on Saturday.

    Local food banks are bracing for a surge in demand, fearing they won’t have enough food to offer.

    The Food Group is a Minnesota nonprofit that works with and administers grants to food banks statewide. 

    “This is really an unprecedented situation. We have food shelves who have already been at capacity with high grocery prices, seeing over 9 million visits last year,” Sophie Lenarz-Coy, executive director of The Food Group, said.

    Without SNAP benefits, one of the only options is food shelves, which many SNAP recipients already use. The average SNAP benefit per person in Minnesota is $157 a month, or just over $5 a day.

    But food shelves are already struggling to meet demand. The Food Group reports visits to Minnesota food shelves rose 18% between 2023 and 2024.  

    Among the biggest increases are rural areas, with visits in Nobles County in southwestern Minnesota rising 194% and visits in Mahnomen County in northern Minnesota rising 102%. Those figures do not account for increased demand in 2025, fueled by continued inflation, budget cuts and laid-off and furloughed federal workers. 

    “This will become a disaster, right? If we don’t stand by our entitlement program to keep people fed in November, which is a month that is so much about food and celebration for folks,” Lenarz-Coy said.

    The Food Group is urging Congress to immediately release $5 million in federal SNAP contingency funds. According to multiple reports, the Trump administration says it will not do that because it says the funding is for emergencies like natural disasters.

    Another possible fix would come if Congress were to pass emergency funding this coming week to keep benefits flowing. But to do that, Speaker Mike Johnson would have to order the House back to Washington, D.C. for a vote. Johnson has said he might do that if the U.S. Senate first votes on funding. 

    Meanwhile, local food shelves say they don’t know what will happen if Minnesotans lose their benefits later this week. 

    You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

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  • Food assistance to be halted as government shutdown drags on

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    Food assistance to be halted as government shutdown drags on – CBS News










































    Watch CBS News



    The Trump administration says federal food assistance will stop Nov. 1 if the government shutdown continues. Elise Preston reports.

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  • ‘Anybody who comes will be served’: DC-area nonprofit prepares for potential WIC crisis – WTOP News

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    The government shutdown is creating uncertainty for low-income women and children who rely on WIC — the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

    The ongoing government shutdown is creating uncertainty for low-income women and children who rely on WIC — the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

    While WIC is currently being sustained by a $150 million emergency fund, that money is only expected to last a few weeks. If it runs out, states and local jurisdictions may need to step in to keep the program going.

    “Without the help of WIC, I know that the families are going to need a lot more help,” said Megan Joe, executive director of the hunger relief program at So What Else. “And they are already struggling to have enough funds at the state that they’re in.”

    The nonprofit serves families across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Baltimore in Maryland, along with D.C. and Virginia. So What Else supports 40,000 families each week with food, diapers, clothing and baby formula, Joe said.

    Joe said WIC sometimes refers families directly to them for assistance, underscoring how government programs and nonprofits work hand in hand to meet basic needs.

    “If that funding is cut, it’s going to put a lot more pressure and stress on these families,” she said. “The more they worry about providing basic necessities … the harder it is for them to have the mental strength to keep up.”

    Maryland’s Department of Health said Gov. Wes Moore’s administration is committed to keeping major federal programs such as WIC operational, assuming the state will be reimbursed for eligible expenses. Virginia’s Department of Health said its WIC program is continuing normal operations for now and is closely monitoring the situation.

    D.C.’s Department of Health said in a statement to WTOP that the city’s WIC program will “continue to operate as normal” and program participants are encouraged to use their benefits and schedule appointments.

    Joe said So What Else hasn’t yet finalized plans for a potential surge in demand, but internal conversations are underway — including possibly raising the diaper limit and coordinating with the D.C. Diaper Bank.

    “Anybody who comes to our warehouse will be served,” she said. “I urge (lawmakers) to go in person to some of these food banks and diaper banks, and really see the impact that those decisions make, because it really is so catastrophic for a lot of these families.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • DC-area food bank bracing for prolonged shutdown – WTOP News

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    Federal job cuts are already putting an increased demand on the Capital Area Food Bank. A government shutdown figures to ratchet that up even more.

    It’s been years since a government shutdown happened, but recent DOGE cuts have already impacted the Capital Area Food Bank. A prolonged shutdown is only going to increase the pressure there.

    It was just last week that the food bank released its 2025 Hunger Report, showing that over 40% of laid-off federal workers and contractors in the region were dealing with food insecurity. It was facing the possibility of being asked to assist with providing millions of more meals every year.

    Now, demand could spike even sooner than that.

    “When there is a government shutdown, there are many federal government workers at income levels that don’t give them that much of a financial cushion if they’re supporting families,” Capital Area Food Bank CEO Radha Muthiah said. “So we know that a sudden loss of income could also mean a sudden inability to put food on the table.”

    The last time the government shut down in 2018, local feds went more than a month without pay. Calls for help started coming in after the first paycheck was missed and demand for food assistance increased as week two turned into an eventual five-week lapse.

    “We had different pop-ups across the region … focused in areas where we knew there was a higher density of federal government workers, and we were out there twice a week at five or six different locations across the region, providing food to those who needed it,” Muthiah said.

    “The first week, I remember when we had the special pop-up distributions, we may have had 100 or so people in line,” she added. “But by the second or third distribution, these were hundreds of individuals.”

    Now, Muthiah said, with many speculating that this current shutdown will be prolonged, they’re bracing for a repeat of that. The goal is to start preparing now so that if paychecks are missed, they’ll be able to start holding similar pop-up giveaways again.

    “Our philosophy is that to be ready, we have to stay ready, which is why we’re continuously monitoring events that could impact our region so that we can respond quickly,” she said. “Our partners already know who they are, and we have plans to get the additional food to them in about two weeks, and then for as long as it takes until the government reopens.”

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Twin Cities food shelf raising money for generator after power outage forces it to toss nearly 6,000 pounds of food

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    Earlier this month, a power outage forced a Twin Cities food shelf to throw out nearly 6,000 pounds of food. 

    “We go through probably 72 cases of milk a week,” Kenny Gilman, logistics coordinator, said.

    The walk-in refrigerator at PRISM food shelf in Golden Valley, Minnesota, is a busy place with cheese, eggs and milk as popular items. But on Sept. 20, a lightning strike caused a power outage at PRISM, and everything inside the fridge and freezer had to be thrown out. 

    “It is painful to waste,” said Gilman. “So yeah, it really is a bummer when we have to throw stuff out.”

    To make matters worse, their thrift store was also temporarily shut down. The revenue from the store helps them buy the food they donate. 

    “We lost food. We lost revenue. We needed to call in a repair person to get the refrigerator fixed,” Michelle Ness, executive director, said.

    The power outage happened at a time when donations are low, but need is at an all-time high. Right now, about 500 families a week are getting their food from PRISM. It’s a 20% increase from 2024, which was a record year. 

    “We need to have refrigerators and freezers running non-stop regardless of weather,” Ness said. 

    With that in mind, Ness said her food shelf is looking at raising money for a generator. Depending on the size, it’s a purchase that could cost anywhere from $15,000 to $80,000. But with demand the highest it’s ever been, it’s a purchase that could pay off. 

    “Food costs are going up. The number of people coming through the door is going up. This is exactly the type of thing we don’t want to have happen,” Ness said. 

    The power outage cost PRISM nearly $8,000 in total losses. 

    John Lauritsen

    John Lauritsen is an Emmy award-winning reporter from Montevideo, Minn. He joined WCCO-TV in late-July of 2007. Two days after he started, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed.

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  • Racing to feed the hungry: Great Stone Dam Classic benefits food bank

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    Participants from across New England braved the rain Sunday during the Great Stone Dam Classic on the Merrimack River in Lawrence. Proceeds from the race benefit Greater Lawrence Community Rowing and the Merrimack Valley Food Bank.

    “We hold this race to connect to the community and to bring people into Lawrence,“ said organizer Shawn Burke of the New England Canoe and Kayak Racing Association.

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  • Oshkosh Area Community Pantry is seeking partners after losing $120K worth of food from federal cuts

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    OSHKOSH – The Oshkosh Area Community Pantry is seeking more community partnerships in the wake of federal cuts.

    Executive Director Ryan Rasmussen made the plea, saying the cancellation of the Local Food Purchase Cooperative Agreement Program resulted in the loss of around $120,000 worth of produce.

    “Of course, we will always continue to operate with the partnerships we have, but the level at which we feed the community may look different depending on the donations we get going forward,” Rasmussen told the Northwestern.

    “I have full faith in our community because they’ve always rallied, so I am certainly hopeful new donations will come our way.”

    Read more: Oshkosh’s top stories of 2025 so far include OASD facilities referendum, AirVenture & more

    The Trump administration cut two federal food programs that provided $1 billion of funding under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    OACP is just one of more than 50,000 entities, including schools and other food banks, severely impacted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ending two federal food programs in March that allotted around $1 billion in funding.

    It’s estimated the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement provided about $420 million — funding that food banks like OACP use to buy fresh produce from local farmers to feed their guests.

    Rasmussen said Oshkosh farmers already had allotted “plants in the ground” for OACP prior to the termination of the program, resulting in what he estimates to be the loss of an entire summer crop of food.

    “Access to healthy food shouldn’t be a luxury, it’s a basic need,” Rasmussen wrote in a recent news release. “Programs like LFPA helped us build strong connections between local farms and food assistance organizations.”

    Read more: Oshkosh bridge closure starts Sept. 2 — here’s what to know

    OASP assists more than 2,800 families monthly at its 2551 Jackson St. location.

    Volunteers Michelle Diener, left, and Sue Schmid sort and organize boxes of produce Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, at the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry in Oshkosh.

    According to Rasmussen, the loss of federal funding comes at a time when OACP assists more than 2,800 families a month — a record high for the Oshkosh food bank.

    It’s also a number Rasmussen doesn’t see “coming down any time soon.”

    OASP has received a measure of relief in the form of $60,000 worth of donations from Olden Organics, Winnebago County, Women Who Care Greater Oshkosh, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

    Rasmussen is also asking for more community members to assist OACP’s efforts by donating, volunteering and supporting local farmers.

    “Fresh, local food is not only better for our health, but it also strengthens our local economy and builds community resilience,” Olden Organics wrote in a news release.

    “We’re proud to continue working alongside OACP to make a difference right here in our region.”

    OACP is open for guest shopping at the St. Vincent de Paul building, 2551 Jackson St., from 2 to 6 p.m. Mondays and 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

    Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.

    This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh Area Community Pantry impacted by federal cuts, seeks partners

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  • Why many Nevadans are contending with worsening food insecurity:

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    Las Vegas — Army veteran Earvin James Sr. never pictured himself in a Las Vegas food pantry. But with a fixed income and rising grocery prices, he had no choice. 

    “Because you go to these stores now, a pack of toilet tissue costs you $8, and it used to be $5 for a 12-pack,” James told CBS News. “Everything is going up in this country except helping out the senior citizens.”

    Most of the food at the Helping Hands of Vegas Valley food pantry comes from the Three Square food bank, a nonprofit that supplies nearly every major food pantry in Southern Nevada.

    “We’re already hearing from our partners that they’re feeling the strain of rising demand, more people coming in the door needing help,” said Beth Martino, president and CEO of Three Square.

    President Trump’s recently passed tax and spending plan, the “big, beautiful bill,” significantly changes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.

    States will pick up much more of the SNAP costs, and there are new, stricter requirements for recipients.

    “In a state like Nevada, we have very few options to raise more revenue to meet the financial demands of a program like SNAP and Medicaid,” Martino said. “So the future for a lot of those people is very uncertain.”

    The warehouse at Three Square felt the pinch in June when it had to contend with smaller food pallets.

    “We were facing a real crisis with not having enough food on our shelves to meet the need,” Martino said.

    According to an analysis in May from Three Square, about one in seven residents in Southern Nevada is food insecure, meaning they do not know where their next meal is coming from. This year, child hunger rose to 22% in the region that Three Square serves, up from 18% in 2024, according to nonprofit’s data. 

    “It was very difficult to ask for assistance,” said Clara Blackwell, a volunteer at Helping Hands.

    Blackwell knows the courage it takes to walk into the pantry and ask for help. Her husband, son and granddaughter all died within weeks of each other. On a fixed income, she now volunteers here to help others find what kept her afloat.

    “Lately, I’ve seen a lot of people coming here,” Blackwell said. “They have no choice. They have no choice at all. I said, ‘Well, you know what? Come reach out and see what you can get.'” 

    Andres Gutierrez

    Andres Gutierrez joined CBS News Detroit in September 2022. He comes from KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, serving as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor.

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  • Organization saves food bound for landfills

    Organization saves food bound for landfills

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    Organization saves food bound for landfills – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    About one-third of the U.S. food supply goes uneaten, ending up in landfills and producing planet-warming methane gas. One organization is dedicated to grabbing food that is still good to eat but would otherwise be thrown away by grocery stores and getting the food to people in need. Itay Hod has the story.

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  • Trucks and technology can be a valuable tool in the fight against food insecurity

    Trucks and technology can be a valuable tool in the fight against food insecurity

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    Detroit — At the Sharing Table in Detroit, Michigan, food is put out for anyone in need.

    “You can see who’s hungry, you can see it in their eyes,” said Bonnie Askew, a regular attendee.

    “Times are hard,” she adds. “People don’t have a decent meal.”

    Some of the food at the Sharing Table comes from Chad Techner, with Metro Food Rescue. Techner drives a truck around Detroit collecting food that is about to be thrown out and delivering it to local food banks — part of the more than 33 million Americans lacking stable food at home, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    “It’s unconscionable to me that, like, we waste 40% of the food in this country,” Techner said. “Well, one in four kids don’t have enough food to eat. I have four young kids. It’s a statistic that really gets home.”

    Techner’s team filled a truck at Bimbo Bakeries USA, maker of Thomas’ English muffins, with food just past the best buy date.

    “If we wouldn’t get it to a food bank, we would have to throw it out so it would completely go to waste,” said Matt Zuidema with Bimbo Bakeries.

    Each year, nearly 120 billion pounds of food goes uneaten in the U.S., worth about $408 billion, according to numbers from the nonprofit group Feeding America. 

    “There’s more than enough for everyone to eat,” Techner said. “We just don’t get it to the right place at the right time.”

    But technology is helping curb waste, linking people with affordable meals. Apps like Too Good To Go lets users buy a bag of items from restaurants and stores at a deep discount, before it is thrown out.

    “There’s a bit of randomness to it,” said 28-year-old Kevin Suggs, a resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. “But when you’re paying $3, $4 or $5 a pickup, it’s always, you know, net [return on investment].”

    In Detroit, Askew said that Americans need to understand that there is a need.

    “If you don’t see it, the hunger, go look for it,” Askew said. “It’s out there. Donate your leftovers. Buy a couple extra boxes of this or that. Find a pantry and donate.”

    Adriana Diaz


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    Adriana Diaz is a CBS News correspondent based in Chicago and is the anchor of Saturday’s edition of the “CBS Weekend News.”

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  • Nearly a quarter of Americans sometimes don’t get enough to eat

    Nearly a quarter of Americans sometimes don’t get enough to eat

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    Almost 25% of American adults are food insecure, a jump of about five percentage points from a year earlier as the double whammy of high inflation and the end of pandemic benefits squeezes more household budgets, according to a new study. 

    Food insecurity indicates that someone isn’t able to secure enough food for a nutritious diet, which can lead to skipping meals or cutting back on food. Those strategies, though, can have implications for a person’s health and well-being, experts say. 

    The rise in food insecurity comes as more households are struggling to pay their typical bills amid grocery costs that have surged 20% in two years and rents that have increased 13%. Inflation surged last year to a four-decade high just as several pandemic-related benefits came to an end, heightening the financial stress for many, according to the new report from the Urban Institute.

    “Food insecurity can be a canary in the coal mine for people who are experiencing high levels of hardship and aren’t able to meet their household needs,” Kassandra Martinchek, a research associate in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute, told CBS MoneyWatch. 

    She added, “It’s a household economic condition where folks don’t have enough resources to have enough food for their family for an active or healthy life.”

    The study, which is based on a survey of almost 8,000 adults in December, found that about 1 in 6 adults relied on charitable food, such as free groceries or meals, last year. By comparison, about 1 in 8 adults relied on food charity in 2019, prior to the pandemic, the study noted. 

    Even though more Americans are finding jobs — and the labor market remains strong — wages aren’t keeping up with inflation, which is chipping away at household purchasing power. And food-stamp enrollment remains high, with 42.6 million people receiving benefits as of December, about 15% higher than prior to the pandemic, according to the most recent data available.

    “Tough decisions”

    Almost two-thirds of adults said their grocery costs increased a lot in the last year, more than the share of Americans who said they were feeling the impact of higher gas prices, rents, child care or health insurance, the analysis found. 

    Adults whose grocery costs increased a lot were about twice as likely as other adults to be food insecure, the study found.

    Food insecure households may “have to make really tough decisions about whether they can pay their rent and their groceries, or lifesaving medication and their groceries,” Martinchek said.

    Aside from people who are food insecure, there are another roughly 10% of Americans who are anxious about their ability to pay for food, she added. 

    These are “folks who feel they are but one emergency away from being able to meet their food needs,” she noted.

    Food insecurity may only worsen in 2023 due to the impact of cuts to the food stamp program, she added. More than 30 states cut their food stamp benefits in March due to the expiration of a pandemic program to provide more funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.  

    Policy changes could address the relatively high levels of food insecurity in the U.S., Martinchek noted. Bringing back programs such as free universal school meals or the expanded Child Tax Credit would help provide families with more resources to feed themselves and their children, she said. 

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  • Military families increasingly relying on food banks

    Military families increasingly relying on food banks

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    Food bank demand rises among military families


    Food bank demand rises among military families

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    Killeen, Texas — U.S. Army Pvt. Gypsy Jones is used to military lineups, including the line at the local food pantry, where a growing number of military families are turning for help. 

    The single mother’s military paycheck doesn’t cover her house payment, utility bills, clothing for her three young daughters and groceries. Jones says about 80% of the food in her house comes from pantries. 

    Food Care Center in Killeen, Texas, home of Fort Hood, is one of several pantries Jones frequents. 

    Raymond Cockrell, who runs the pantry, said he is seeing more people in uniform than ever before. 

    “Five years ago, when I started, we had about 600 military families come through our door,” Cockrell said. “Our most recent year that just ended, we had almost 2,000 families come through our doors.” 

    Nationwide, at least one in six military and veteran families were food insecure in 2021, up from one in eight families just two years earlier, according to the Military Family Advisory Network. 

    Pantries are facing their own hurdles. A dollar donated used to cover seven meals at the Food Care Center, but with inflation it now pays for only six. 

    If she could not rely on food pantries, Jones said she would have to take on a second or third job to make ends meet. She said that while some soldiers won’t come out of shame, for her, there’s no dishonor. 

    “There’s nothing wrong with seeking help when you need it,” she said. 

    Janet Shamlian


    Janet Shamlian

    Janet Shamlian is a CBS News correspondent based in Houston, Texas. Shamlian’s reporting is featured on all CBS News broadcasts and platforms including “CBS Mornings,” the “CBS Evening News” and the CBS News Streaming Network, CBS News’ premier 24/7 anchored streaming news service.

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