SPOKANE, Wash. — Food banks across the Inland Northwest are struggling to keep up with demand as more families turn to them for help during the government shutdown.
The Salvation Army’s food pantry usually serves 170 people each day. It says this past week, that number jumped to 270.
“It has a lot of families in a scary place,” said Captain David Cane of the Salvation Army.
The organization launched an emergency food drive to restock their shelves.
“This is a time where we’ve got to step up and drastic times demand drastic measures,” Cane said.
Many people are waiting for their SNAP benefits to come back, but no one knows when that will happen. Food banks say this level of demand is hard to maintain.
“Food shelves were never intended to replace grocery stores. That is what we are seeing right now,” said Carrie Stahler of the Vermont Foodbank.
Local businesses are also helping. Skewers, an Armenian restaurant in downtown Spokane, started giving out free meals this week.
“When I showed up, there was already people standing out front, because they heard that they could get meals here,” said restaurant owner Mirak Kazanjian.
More than 100 people got a meal on the first day. Hundreds more have signed up for the coming days. The restaurant’s Facebook post about free meals has been shared thousands of times.
“We’ve had others that are just back crying as they get the meals or even when they’re calling to ask if we’re actually handing out meals,” Kazanjian said.
People who need meals can call Skewers directly at (509) 456-5656. Kazanjian recommends calling ahead as they are seeing a high demand.
“I think in a gloomy time, people saw something that brought them some hope, and hopefully it inspires others to also step up and see what they have to offer and what they can do,” Kazanjian said.
The Salvation Army is still accepting donations at their food distribution center located at 204 E Indiana Ave, Spokane, WA 99207. They’ve also extended their pantry hours on Wednesdays to 6:30 pm to help working families.
“We just want to make sure that our hours aren’t a barrier for anyone who’s needing extra help during these challenging times,” Cane said.
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