The 43-day government shutdown from Oct. 1-Nov. 12 came to an end, marking the longest shutdown in the nation’s history. Through the shutdown, funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was paused, leaving many families struggling to find food for their families.

This left food pantries and community members to fill the gaps, which many Pierce County residents and businesses stepped up to the plate to do. With nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites on FoodShare programs, some food pantries wore thin on essential items.

“We made it through the hard times, but who knows what the future will hold,” Pierce County Food Pantry Coordinator Heidi Albarado said. “We cannot thank the community enough for stepping up and supporting us and the whole area in combating food insecurity.”

Albarado said people were extremely generous during a time of need, but said it is necessary for people to remember that food insecurity is an issue year-round, not just during funding pauses.

“We need to know that it’s not just now, it’s all year long that we all need to reach out and help each other,” Albarado said.

There were food drives and monetary donations that Albarado said were massively helpful for the pantry. One of these was a grocery giveaway outside of Waltz Ace Hardware in Ellsworth where about 200 boxes of groceries were handed out to people in need.

When SNAP benefits were paused, food pantries nationwide, including in Pierce County, experienced an influx of people signing up to use the food pantry.
“We kind of struggled with getting some of the essential food products, but with the generosity, like I say, of the community that did food drives, and now there’s ongoing food drives throughout the community and monetary donations that have come in to help us, we’re moving right along,” Albarado said.

“I don’t know if we will ever 100% combat food insecurity altogether; however, every little bit helps,” Albarado said. “Every bit of food is going to someone and being consumed, so it all makes a difference.”