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Volunteers with the Junior League of Greater Lakeland carry boxes of food during a United Way of Central Florida distribution event. | United Way of Central Florida
3-minute read
Polk County’s food relief network is preparing for the expected lapse of SNAP benefits the same way it mobilized for COVID — quickly, collectively and at emergency scale.
On Nov. 3, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will use roughly $4.6 billion from a contingency fund to cover about half of November’s SNAP benefits amidst the government shutdown, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
According to reporting from CBS, the White House press secretary confirmed the administration is “fully complying” with a court order to fund SNAP, but cautioned that it may take weeks or months to distribute the reduced benefits.
Without this support, many ALICE families — those who are working but still fall short of a livable wage — will wake up with no money for groceries as early as this week. Nonprofits say this could trigger the largest food insecurity surge since the pandemic.
“Families are already having a difficult time keeping up with expenses outpacing income,” Thomas Mantz, CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay said. “This just makes it worse.”
What organizations are doing now
Feeding Tampa Bay
Procuring additional food immediately
Pushing more supply to 40-50 food pantries in Polk
Staging mass distribution events (starting in Bartow)
“Between us and our partners, we already supply about 1.9 million meals a week,” Mantz said. “The loss of SNAP benefits could add another 50% in terms of need.”
Planning to bolster 17 existing monthly food drops in Polk
Surveying partner agencies this week to pinpoint highest-impact zipcodes
Coordinating with Feeding Tampa Bay, The Freedom Tour and grocery distributors
“We’re almost treating this like stepping back to COVID — we’re not sure how long it will last, and the unknown is the hardest part,” said Christina Criser Jackson, president & CEO of United Way of Central Florida.
Local businesses are stepping in
A growing number of Polk County restaurants and cafes are also launching their own efforts — offering free meals, discounted food or in some cases waiving the cost entirely for families who show an EBT card.
These small businesses say they’re responding to what they see at the counter — fear, confusion and families stretching groceries. Benjamin Vickers, who owns Honeycomb Bread Bakers in Winter Haven, said that when he learned SNAP funding would not be available for November, he chose to act immediately.
“I had a choice between saying something and doing something — I chose the latter,” Vickers said.
Denise Gilmore, owner of Mary’s Bagel Café is also providing relief with the nonprofit Mary’s Pantry. They are offering prepared meals twice a week for Polk County students and their families.
“We feel it’s our duty to help people who are food insecure since the government is not offering SNAP benefits right now,” said Gilmore. “No one should be hungry.”
Honeycomb Bread Bakers: offering 100% discount on meals/coffee when families show an EBT card
Il Forno Italian Restaurant: offering one free kids’ meal with the purchase of one adult meal until SNAP is restored
Mary’s Bagels Cafe – Mary’s Pantry Inc.: will provide two meals a week to parents and children struggling with food insecurity
If your business is providing support and is not listed here, please reach out — this is an evolving situation, and LkldNow will continue updating this information as new efforts emerge.
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.
