Area food banks brace for increased demand

BY DANIEL SCHMIDT

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

EAST ALABAMA – In the unseasonably chill Halloween air, a line of cars wrapped nearly completely around the Valley First Assembly of God Church. It was just shy of 9 a.m., and each one had come to receive their bimonthly food assistance from the congregation’s food bank mission.

Inside, a handful of parishioners — most well into their sixties and seventies — stacked box upon box onto a flat cart to begin this morning’s drive through. Over the next 30 minutes, they handed out more than 1,800 pounds of food to 20 families after distributing nearly 2,200 pounds to 23 families on Oct. 28.

Among them was Lisa Staples, a 62-year-old disability recipient who has found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet on a fixed income since her husband passed away in 2019. In the more than two years Staples has come to Valley First Assembly for assistance, she’s rarely, if ever, seen that number of cars before.

“You saw the line that was here today, that’s more than I’ve seen in a while,” Staples said, occasionally reaching over to pet and comfort her tan Chihuahua, Baby, as he shivered in the passenger seat. “They usually don’t have that many people. When I looked behind me and thought I was the last car, I was at the longest line. Two or three others then got behind me in the back, and I knew it was because the government was going to cut off [assistance].”

Between August 2024 and July 2025, the church on average helped the equivalent of 328 people per month. In October, they were on track to help 516 people, and now have plans to scale up operations to help up to nearly 900 people per month.

It is a scene playing out across eastern Alabama as funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is halted as the longest-ever federal government shutdown enters its sixth week. That showdown, triggered by Congressional Democrats and Republicans on Oct. 1 after failing to reach an agreement on expiring Biden-era healthcare subsidies, now has local food banks bracing for increased demand as the impasse continues with no end in sight.

According to the Food Research and Action Center, a nationwide poverty-related hunger watchdog and policy nonprofit, 12.2 percent and 17.5 percent of households in Lee County and Chambers County, respectively, currently receive SNAP benefits. In raw numbers, that amounts to 18,529 people in Lee County and 6,956 in Chambers County.

Suzanne Rowland, who has served as operations manager at the Food Bank of East Alabama since January, said that she and her team are doing everything possible to ensure that partner food banks can help meet demand.

That includes spending $200,000 on food that it didn’t previously budget for after Feeding America issued guidance on preparing for a potential government shutdown several months ago. However, that extra money isn’t expected to go far if the shutdown extends beyond November, even as the White House indicates it will comply with federal court orders issued on Oct. 31 by partially paying SNAP benefits with emergency funds.

On average, the Food Bank distributes between 450,000 and 500,000 pounds of food to 9,000 households across Barbour, Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell and Tallapoosa counties per month. With those figures in mind, that $200,000 could cover a similar additional level of support for the same number of SNAP beneficiaries for no more than two weeks based on Rowland’s estimation.

“The agencies that we work with, our partners, have been calling a lot more,” Rowland said. “They’re a little concerned. They’re seeing a lot more people coming in who need help. Unfortunately, this is a time of year when we don’t have a lot of produce — our produce is gone. We just don’t have any. And we have no meat. So it’s very hard to meet some of those needs they have, which are the most expensive things at the store. For every one meal we can provide, SNAP provides seven to nine more, and we can’t meet seven to nine times what we’re already doing. So we’re going to give a little help trying to do what we can to kind of put some band aids on where needed for now. And hopefully things will turn around.”

Around the food bank’s 20,000-square-foot warehouse, the signs of increasing strain are already beginning to appear. One can now walk dozens of feet into a 30,000-cubic-foot freezer and cooler space that was once filled to its sliding door with pallets of fresh fruits and vegetables. And while the metal bays still hold plenty of food, beverages — hardly satiating for empty stomachs — make up an increasing share of the inventory.

On the ground, that means food banks like the one at Valley First Assembly must get creative, especially as they brace for increased demand.

Since starting the church in 2007, John Eldridge Jr. has seen plenty of changes in eastern Alabama in his 18 years as pastor. Primary among them were the closings of the West Point-Pepperell textile mill in Opelika and finishing plant in Lanett in 2006 and 2007, respectively, which eliminated more than 1,060 total jobs.

While there have been some similar employment opportunities, such as the Kia West Point Assembly Plant in nearby West Point, Georgia., a sizable number of those laid off nearly 20 years ago have experienced lingering underemployment and inadequate wages. Compound those job losses with widows who have little outside support and retirees with fixed incomes that haven’t kept pace with inflation, and the perfect storm is brewing as thousands are now set to lose their SNAP benefits.

According to Eldridge, most people who seek food assistance from Valley First Assembly and either receive food stamps, disability or Social Security either already work or physically can’t work. The online discourse surrounding the loss of SNAP benefits has also weighed heavily on his mind as he and his volunteers prepare to ramp up distribution.

“More people are needing help because of income levels. [Some] people have this concept that those who go to food banks or get on food stamps or whatever are a bunch of sorry people,” Eldridge said. “They’re not. A lot of them are hard-working people who just can’t make ends meet. I mean some of this stuff I’m reading is sickening to me. We understand that the enemy of our soul is going to make people focus on those who abuse and take advantage of and lie. Yes, there are going to be people who abuse [the system], but do you throw away all the other ones who need help because of that? I’m always going to strive to err on the side of mercy and grace.”

While preliminary discussions between individual elected officials in Washington, D.C. have begun, leaders from both parties and in both chambers are less committed to finding a resolution.

The House of Representatives has not voted on a single bill since Sep. 19 as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has kept the chamber in recess since Sept. 30. In the Republican-led Senate, the filibuster rule — which requires 60 votes to end debate on a bill and bring it to the floor to be voted on — has also prevented movement as 45 of 48 Democrats have voted against cloture.

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey also rejected requests from state Democrats to call a special legislative session to address the situation with state resources.

State Sens. Jay Hovey, R-S.D. 27 and Randy Price, R-S.D. 13 and State Reps. Randy Price, R-H.D. 13, Joe Lovvorn, R-H.D. 79 and Bob Fincher, R-H.D. 37, who all represent districts located in Chambers or Lee counties, also did not respond to requests for comment from The Sun by the press deadline.

The inaction and partisanship displayed by elected officials has dismayed those leading local responses as they brace for the days and weeks to come.

“They need to learn how to pray and listen to the things the Lord says and quit being so selfish,” Eldridge said. “Half of the country wants to blame the Republicans and half of the country wants to blame the Democrats. I blame the individuals. We want what we want so much that we’re willing to sacrifice children, sacrifice lives, just to get what we want.”

Those interested in helping local food banks can visit foodbankofeastalabama.com for a list of partner organizations in Chambers and Lee counties.

Gov. Kay Ivey directs $2 million to Alabama food banks amid federal shutdown

Late Tuesday afternoon, Ivey announced the release of $2 million in state emergency funds to eight food banks serving all 67 Alabama counties as the ongoing federal government shutdown delays Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Alabama Department of Human Resources is also redirecting an additional $3 million to the Feeding Alabama network, bringing total food-aid funding for fiscal year 2026 to $9 million. Ivey said the emergency funding aims to support families, seniors and disabled residents affected by the lapse in federal aid but stressed that the state cannot replace federal responsibilities.