As shutdown halts food assistance, pastor works to fill the gaps
As the U.S. government shutdown enters its second month and freezes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Reverend Alexander Scotland’s Discipleship Driven Ministries in Port Charlotte has become a crucial lifeline for struggling families.
Beginning Nov. 1, SNAP benefits were halted. Many low-income families rely on these funds to afford food, and as such, these people are turning to local food pantries to help fill the gap. In 2024, SNAP served an average of 41.7 million participants per month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Rev. Scotland has spent more than two decades in charitable ministry. He operates a thrift store that collects donated furniture from the community, sells it and uses the proceeds to stock the food pantry that he also oversees.
“Because of the government shutdown, we have seen an increase in the need for food,” Scotland said.
Fortunately, both Sam’s Club and Publix have been helping to stock Scotland’s shelves, donating pallets of food to the pantry for the last few weeks.
The model for Scotland’s ministry, and particularly the food bank and thrift store, is “People Helping People,” he said. They often come down to Boca Grande to pick up used and donated furniture to sell in the thrift store, he added.
Located at 4040 Tamiami Trail, the food pantry is open from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays and the thrift store is open daily.
“What we have is a pantry of choice, so you get to pick what you eat,” Scotland said. Lately, the options have been slightly more limited as food pantries across the country struggle to keep up with demand.
In Charlotte County alone, there were 14,500 SNAP benefit recipients in 2022, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data.
“We get a lot of young families, a lot of elderly who are raising grandkids,” Scotland said. He estimates that the pantry serves over 100 families a week, around 500 to 600 individuals.
One of the places Scotland gets food for the pantry is the Harry Chapin Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief nonprofit in Southwest Florida, serving Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties. But even Harry Chapin has been stretched thin lately as demand there has also surged.
“The last couple of weeks we have no food from Harry Chapin,” he said. “Sometimes we fall short.”
Last Friday, Oct. 31, Harry Chapin declared a state of emergency as the federal shutdown extended to its fifth week. Wednesday, Nov. 5 marked the longest government shutdown in history.
“We are deeply concerned by the current situation,” said Richard LeBer, president and CEO of Harry Chapin Food Bank, in a press release. “The longer this continues, the more significant the suffering it will cause for thousands in our community.”
Lately, Harry Chapin has seen extensive lines of people waiting for food at its locations, wrote Irma C. Lancaster, director of Communication and Marketing for Harry Chapin in an email to the Beacon.
The USDA stated Monday in a federal court filing that it could take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months to distribute emergency funds to SNAP recipients.
“We have definitely seen an increase in the number of people that are seeking food assistance at our mobile pantries,” Lancaster wrote. “Additionally, we are hearing from our agency partners that they are seeing an increase in demand at their locations as well.”
In Charlotte County, Scotland is working to raise funds for a new truck that would allow him to transport larger quantities of food from Sam’s Club and Publix to the pantry. He lost his previous truck during a hurricane last fall, and he’d rather put money toward food and supplies than continue paying for U-Haul rentals.
“We just want to be able to have the food to help the needy,” he said. “We need a reliable truck instead of renting trucks and U-Hauls to be able to pick up more pallets. Now we’re just seeing how we can continue serving these people.”
Contact Scotland and the food bank at (941) 467-2042. Visit harrychapinfoodbank.org.
