Food banks on the Suncoast see an uptick in need due to government shutdown

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Millions of Floridians are expected to lose food assistance this weekend as the federal government shutdown drags on.

Nearly 3 million people in Florida rely on SNAP to pay for groceries.

On the Suncoast, food banks are already starting to see an uptick in people coming in.

Volunteers at Harvest House in Sarasota said their numbers have increased significantly in the past two weeks because of the government shutdown. They said they usually serve around 200 to 225 families every Thursday, but now have served more than 300 families.

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Eureka Webb, Harvest House Food Pantry Manager, told ABC 7 that the government shutdown has become a significant financial burden for the people she serves.

“People have emailed me in the middle of the night, and I’m noticing it. They emailed me this morning,” she said..

“People have come through here crying because of the SNAP benefits and the government shutdown. Harvest is very vigilant in the community, and they want to know if we’re going to help them and assist them with food.”

In Venice, the First Baptist Church food pantry is also bracing for an influx of people. Although volunteers have not yet seen an increase, they expect it soon.

“We’re anticipating more this week due to the government shutdown, so we’re hoping we have plenty of food to supply to the community this week,” said volunteer Steve Phillips.

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Phillips said they usually don’t run out of food before the food pantry closes at 6 p.m. on Thursdays.

“We generally have things left. We go out and purchase eggs, milk, and cheese every week. Some frozen meats and things,” he said.

“We get a lot of canned goods, as you can see behind me. We pick a lot of things up from the store. A lot of easy things our senior and homeless people can pick up and take with them.”

Harvest House in Sarasota and First Baptist Church are both accepting donations and need volunteers. People also in need of food can come out to those food pantries every Thursday.