Around 2,300 visitors stopped in to the 14 pantries DMARC oversees on Nov. 3. Other food pantries in the Des Moines metro have experienced a busy weekend.
DES MOINES, Iowa — It’s been a busy Monday and busy weekend for food pantries since the government shutdown delayed SNAP benefits Nov. 1. That same day — Saturday — Urbandale Food Pantry saw a surge of visitors, marking a record-breaking day for the pantry.
“We welcomed over 112 families into the pantry in just four hours,” CEO Patty Sneddon-Kisting said.
The Urbandale Food Pantry is one of 14 overseen by DMARC Food Pantry Network. It saw record-breaking numbers Monday, as did the network as a whole, with just over 2,300 visitors stopping by one of the 14 locations.
“It’s not a record we look forward to setting,” said Blake Willadsen, DMARC’s marketing and communications manager. “My heart hurts for the people who I saw trying to come up to the food pantry today, saw the line and said, ‘I can’t do this. I don’t have time for it.'”
Unlike many records, these ones aren’t celebrated. In fact, they’re raising major concerns for the pantries.
“We have families that are coming in incredibly worried,” said Sneddon-Kisting. “[They’re asking] ‘What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to feed our families?'”
While the Trump administration announced Monday they’d use a contingency fund to partially fund SNAP, a lot still remains unclear.
“Right now, there’s still more questions than there are answers,” Willadsen said. “We don’t know if people are going to be reimbursed for those full benefits for the month.”
Sneddon-Kisting told Local 5 that, although partial SNAP benefits could provide some relief, she expects foot traffic to continue increasing.
“We’ll continue to see this uptick just around the uncertainty, the what-ifs and the not knowing. Even partially funded, people are still trying to figure out, ‘How do I fund the rest?’
