For millions of families, the dinner table is suddenly empty again. With the pending suspension of SNAP benefits compounded by a government shutdown now in its fourth week, America’s most vulnerable households are once more caught in the crossfire of politics. For most low-income families, SNAP is the primary safety net. When those benefits are interrupted, even briefly, the impact is immediate and severe – and it ripples across the entire food system. Add to that the impact on more than 2.6 military families plus 3 million civilian employees of the Federal government and you can quickly see the staggering increased need for food at food pantries nationwide.
We’ve seen this before. In 2019, we wrote about that cascading effect in a posting titled “Government Shutdown Impacts Food Pantries”. Sadly, history is repeating itself.
A Perfect Storm for Hunger
The pending SNAP suspension is hitting at a time when food insecurity is already rising due to inflation, high housing costs, and economic uncertainty. Food pantries, which rely on donations from grocery stores and community drives, are seeing heavier demand and thinner supplies. And these food sources generally don’t provide fresh food, further impacting the health of the community.
When government systems stall, local communities step up. Food pantries become the first line of defense – and that’s where home and community gardeners can play a powerful role.
Gardeners Can Make a Difference – Right Now
If you live in a part of the country where the growing season hasn’t ended, you can help today. Gardeners in warmer regions – from California to the Carolinas, from Texas to Florida – can donate their surplus harvests to nearby AmpleHarvest.org member food pantries. Your surplus harvest donation could be the difference between a family eating processed foods or enjoying a fresh, healthy meal tonight. Every tomato, pepper, and squash matters. Freshly harvested food from your garden doesn’t just fill a stomach – it restores dignity, nutrition, and hope.
Planting for a Stronger Tomorrow
If this moment reminds us of anything, it’s how fragile America’s food system really is. A single government disruption can push millions into hunger. The best way to prevent that next year is to plan ahead – by growing a little extra food specifically for donation. Bonnie Plants’ Grow More. Feed More program makes it easy to dedicate part of your garden to helping neighbors in need. Even one or two extra plants can yield dozens of servings of fresh produce over a season. Imagine the collective impact if millions more gardeners across the country did the same.
Help Us Expand Our Reach
AmpleHarvest.org, a 16-year-old award-winning nonprofit, connects America’s 62 million gardeners with more than 8,300 food pantries in over 5,800 communities nationwide. But as food insecurity grows, we must reach even more pantries and gardeners – especially in rural and underserved areas.
We invite individuals, companies, and philanthropic organizations to join us. Your support enables us to expand our food pantry network, strengthen our technology, and bring more communities online.
You can help by:
- Making a recurring or one time donation at AmpleHarvest.org/donate
- Encouraging your company to include AmpleHarvest.org in its corporate social responsibility(CSR) program
- Sharing this message with your local gardening community
With Your Help, We Can Weather the Storm
When government programs pause and systems falter, communities hold together through generosity and local action. Gardeners have always been at the heart of that resilience.
- If you can harvest today – share it
- If you can plant tomorrow – plan to grow more.
- And if you can give – help AmpleHarvest.org continue connecting gardeners to pantries across America.
Donated fresh food from a garden isn’t just nutrition – it’s dignity delivered with soil still on it.
