Nearly 170,000 Utahns rely on federal food assistance every month. But as the government shutdown continues, those benefits could disappear — and local food pantries, like Cache Community, are bracing for the fallout.
Matt Whitaker, Director of the Cache Community Food Pantry, said he hasn’t seen a flood of new faces yet — but it’s only a matter of time.
“We understand that as of Nov. 1 — if the shutdown is still going on — that food stamps won't be available," he said. "And so we're trying to gear up for that, and trying to get ready for… the extra amount of people that are going to be appealing to us for help.”
Whitaker said the pantry supplies food to roughly 1,600 families every month, and each family can visit twice a month. The pantry also provides goods to eight senior centers and several local nonprofits.
Although the director said Cache Valley’s pantry doesn’t rely heavily on federal funding, the ripple effects of a government shutdown will still put a strain on local pantries.
That’s because federal nutrition programs — especially the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — are funded month to month.
If the shutdown extends much longer, the USDA will not be able to distribute funds to states, leaving hundreds of thousands of Utahns without food benefits.
“I am just starting to see a few families come in now that have been affected with the government shutdown," Whitaker said, "and I anticipated that. I thought, ‘Well, they're probably going to be a few weeks to a month behind the shutdown.’ And that's what we're starting to see now.”
Luckily, the months leading up to the holiday season are when the community tends to ramp up donations, Whitaker explained. Besides, the Cache Valley community seems to have a way of stepping up when things are dire.
“And that’s a unique thing about Cache Valley," he said, "it seems like when the chips are down is when we do better… When COVID hit I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, what's going to happen? We're going to have more people and less food come in.’ But we did better that year than we had done prior.”
He said the same was true during the 2008 recession, and last year when the pantry’s stores hit an all-time low.
Whitaker has already begun preparing for a possible surge in need, by putting out calls to the community for donations of both food and funds. But if donations don’t keep up with demand, he said the pantry may need to make some hard choices about who receives what.
“We probably have to start slimming down how much we could give away if donations don't come in," he said. "So there's different ways we can look at it, but hopefully we don't have to get that far.”
Alongside staples like canned vegetables and peanut butter, Whitaker said the pantry is in constant need of jam, canned fruit, cereal, and baking goods like flour, sugar and oil. The pantry also accepts hygiene items, utensils, can openers, and a few specific types of winter clothes.
Despite the uncertainty of the shutdown and the potential surge in demand, Whitaker remains hopeful, and is quick to give credit where it’s due.
“We're not here without the community," he said, "so thank you to all the individuals, the businesses, the grocery stores, anybody that donates — we're not here without you. So thank you very much for what you do for us.”