Seward County’s food pantries are filling up faster than ever – not with food, but with families suddenly left hungry.
Due to the federal government shutdown, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’s Food and Nutrition Service paused its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on Oct. 29.
SNAP benefits provide eligible low-income individuals and families with funds to purchase food. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, November’s federally funded SNAP benefits will be delayed for as long as the shutdown continues.
With so many people now going without SNAP benefits, food pantries across the country expect to see a dramatic increase in users. Approximately 155,000 Nebraskans used SNAP in 2024, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service reported.
Seward County’s food banks are set up to help those in need of food due to financial struggles and serve people of all ages. Blue Valley Community Action family development coordinator Deb Aegerter said there are many different reasons a person may need assistance, such as an unexpected illness, lack of retirement savings, change in marital status and more.
Aegerter said BVCA’s Seward food pantry has already seen many people visiting the pantry who are now out of SNAP benefits. She said these people have expressed being very anxious about how they will get by this month.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls,” Aegerter said. “People are really, really nervous about it, and they’ve been starting to make more appointments with us and have a lot of questions, which we try to answer the best that we can. It’s just up in the air right now with the government shutdown.”
BVCA Seward Food Pantry, which also assists with rent and utilities in some situations, gets some of its food from Walmart through Feeding America and from Dollar General. It relies on community donations for the rest of its stock.
Aegerter said she is most concerned about running low on meat products.
“I don’t want people to go hungry, and a lot of them have bills for rent, utilities, insurance, all that stuff,” Aegerter said. “After they get their other bills paid, they don’t have a whole lot left for food. It’s a sad situation.”
St. John Deaconess Jeri Morrison manages Christ’s Cupboard at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward. She said Christ’s Cupboard is also expecting a large influx of people who use the pantry this month. It is a food pantry set up as a grocery store with sections for people to shop for canned fruits and vegetables, baking items, personal care items and more.
“We try to provide as much dignity and respect as we can, because we also know how hard it is to ask for help,” Morrison said.
In August, Christ’s Cupboard served 57 households for a total of 177 individuals. In September, it served 59 households representing 181 individuals. Morrison said these numbers are higher than normal, and there has also been an uptick in need from larger families.
Christ’s Cupboard, an equal opportunity provider, stocks its shelves using community food donations and its monthly order from the Lincoln Food Pantry. The Lincoln Food Bank’s food is much cheaper than food bought directly from the store due to its USDA and Feeding America partnerships.
If Christ’s Cupboard gets low on items before the next food delivery, volunteers use its monetary donations to purchase food from local stores. The organization has had to do this frequently over the last couple of months.
Morrison said many people often do not witness the poverty that exists in Seward County, but it is present. Helping people with food expenses also helps them free up some of their money to put toward rent and utilities, which can be more difficult to cover.
“In Seward, people who are in need, it’s typically unseen, and when they come to Christ’s Cupboard, they are greeted with warm hospitality, and our volunteers know that they're truly meeting a need,” she said.
Morrison and Aegerter said they appreciate the amazing support that Seward County residents already give, which makes the pantries’ work possible.
“The community is amazing,” Aegerter said. “I can talk all day about the Seward community and its giving. We’ve had so many phone calls in between appointments about people wanting to know what we need. And, one thing with Seward, we do have a lot of food resources, which is great.”
Find information on all the food pantries, including their times of operation, through their websites and phone numbers listed below. To donate food or money to the organizations, give them a call, send a check by mail or stop by their places of operation.
