As the Nov. 1 deadline nears for a halt of federally funded nutrition assistance programs many are concerned about the impact the pause in benefits will have on local families in need and local food pantries are saying it comes at a time they already are seeing record numbers.
“We’ve had double our people (coming in for help),” Roseann Willett DeBot, executive director of Operation Bootstrap in Stevens Point, told a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporter. “In all the years we have been operating, I’ve never seen people so worried.”
Operation Bootstrap has been providing food and outreach services in Portage County for about 60 years. DeBot said they already are seeing a spike in both donations and people seeking assistance.
This increase in need comes amid the ongoing partial federal government shutdown, which started Oct. 1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, under President Donald Trump’s Administration, has stated that funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, are depleted due to a continued inability of the U.S. Congress to pass a budget bill.
Operation Bootstrap held a food drive at the Stevens Point branch of the Portage County Library on Oct. 28, 2025.
The USDA placed a message on its website Oct. 27 in regard to SNAP benefits that stated, “the well has run dry” and “there will be no benefits issued November 01.”
In Wisconsin, SNAP is administered by the Department of Health Services through a program called FoodShare. Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites are members of the nutrition assistance program, including one in four children in the state below the age of 5.
A message on the DHS website alerts FoodShare members to an anticipated delay in benefits for the month of November by stating, “FoodShare benefits are 100 percent funded by the federal government and the shutdown will need to end before members can start getting benefits again.”
Many central Wisconsin organizations already partner to offer free meals and food to take home for local residents in need including community outreach organizations, churches, schools, colleges and universities, business organizations, foundations and more.
DeBot said Operation Bootstrap has a need for volunteers and both food and monetary donations. The organization provides up to two weeks of nutritious food to people seeking assistance, DeBot said.
“I don’t know how much longer we can continue with doing all that we do for people if this continues for a long time,” DeBot said of the spike in people seeking assistance. “We will sure try though.”
How many people receive FoodShare?
Here’s how many individuals received FoodShare benefits in September 2025 in central Wisconsin counties and how much in total benefits was received in each county, according to the DHS website:
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Marathon County: 12,008 individuals received $1,778,457
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Wood County: 9,652 individuals received $1,418,023
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Portage County: 5,777 individuals received $882,044
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Shawano County: 5,102 individuals received $757,102
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Waupaca County: 4,956 individuals received $705,151
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Juneau County: 4,131 individuals received $605,832
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Adams County: 3,383 individuals received $510,985
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Clark County: 3,059 individuals received $434,486
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Lincoln County: 3,022 individuals received $419,172
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Waushara County: 2,817 individuals received $409,399
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Taylor County: 1,961 individuals received $265,385
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Statewide: 684,662 individuals received $115,634,600
Where can you find food pantries and free meals?
Here’s where to find food pantries and free meals in central Wisconsin, according to Feeding America’s website. Information about eligibility and contact information can be found on each organization’s website.
SALVATION ARMY STEVENS POINT
COMMUNITY THRIFT STORE OF PORTAGE COUNTY
OPERATION BOOTSTRAP
INTERFAITH FOOD PANTRY OF PORTAGE COUNTY
FOCUS: FEEDING OUR COMMUNITIES WITH UNITED SERVICES
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2321 W. Grand Ave., Wisconsin Rapids
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Pantry: Monday, noon to 3:45 p.m.; Tuesday, 4-6:45 p.m.; and Thursday and Friday, noon to 3:45 p.m.
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Meal: Thursday, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
RUBY’S PANTRY WISCONSIN RAPIDS
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501 17th St. S., Wisconsin Rapids
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Pantry: Third Saturday of the month. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at a cost of $25. Food bundles available 8-9:15 a.m.
RUBY’S PANTRY MARSHFIELD
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513 E. 17th St., Marshfield
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Pantry: First Saturday of the month. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at a cost of $25. Food bundles available 8:30-10 a.m.
COMMUNITY CENTER OF HOPE
COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP FOOD PANTRY
THE NEIGHBORS PLACE INC.
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Pantry: Monday and Wednesday, 1:30-4:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.
SALVATION ARMY WAUSAU
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN FOOD PANTRY
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL MARSHFIELD
BANCROFT BAPTIST CHURCH
COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY OF MERRILL
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503 S. Center Ave., Suite 3, Merrill
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Pantry: Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon; Thursday, 4-6 p.m.
DINNER @ 5 at St. Stephens United Church of Christ
TRINITY OPEN HEART FOOD PANTRY
HIS HANDS EXTENDED FOOD PANTRY
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: How the SNAP halt will impact central Wisconsin & where help is available
