From our friends at Second Harvest Foodbank: 

Our community is facing one of the most serious challenges in recent memory.

Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, November SNAP benefits will not be distributed. This means 121,000 households/246,000 individuals across Middle and West Tennessee will lose access to a vital source of support—over 14 million meals in just one month. The ripple effects will be felt far and wide, impacting families, grocery stores, farmers, and food producers alike. When SNAP dollars disappear, the loss touches every corner of our community.

This crisis follows earlier federal cuts that reduced our USDA food supply by 30 percent and eliminated $3 million in funding for local food purchasing programs. These setbacks have created a compounding challenge: less food is available just as more families are turning to us for help. And as we’ve seen time and again, hunger doesn’t wait.

Behind every statistic is a neighbor. Jessica, a mother of two who works at a factory, shared, “If we don’t have SNAP benefits, we don’t have a whole lot of money for food.” As the government shutdown disrupts SNAP benefits, families are facing impossible choices between paying bills or putting food on the table. Families like Jessica’s are a powerful reminder of why we do this work.

Second Harvest is uniquely positioned to lead the response. As the largest hunger relief organization in Tennessee, we serve 46 counties across Middle and West Tennessee and partner with over 600 nonprofit and government agencies. We are reallocating resources, ramping up food distributions, and equipping partners to meet this moment with urgency and compassion. But we cannot do it alone.
 

West End is joining with other communities of faith to support Second Harvest Food Bank because it is one of the largest hunger relief organizations in TN that has the broadest reach, supplying many of the local food banks our neighbors rely on. Here is how we can help: 

1) Raise money. Simply put, they can do more with our money than we can when it comes to bulk buying power.  If you'd like to give, please give to Second Harvest Food Bank directly.  

2) Help us with bringing canned chicken or tuna. Each congregation present at our meeting decided to take one of the six items Second Harvest identified that they needed the most. We decided to collect canned chicken or tuna.

 

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