The country’s longest government shutdown in history ended on Nov. 12, but its effects on food assistance continue to impact people across the country. At a time when the need for food is heightened around the holiday season, several local and on-campus organizations at Quinnipiac University took action to help those in need.
The disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a result of the shutdown combined with the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB) both affected people who rely on food assistance.
“SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Not only did the shutdown affect those who rely on food assistance, but the Trump administration’s OBBB had a large effect on SNAP benefits as well.
Signed into law on July 4, “this legislation will reduce SNAP funding by approximately $186 billion over 10 years — a 20% cut that marks the largest reduction in the history of the program,” according to Harvard Kennedy School.
The act also created “stricter work requirements on SNAP participants.”
In regard to food assistance, OBBB and the shutdown have significantly affected families everywhere.
In Connecticut alone, hundreds of thousands of people were affected by the shutdown, as reported by DataHaven.
“The shutdown disrupted $72 million in food assistance for about 360,000 Connecticut residents,” according to a report by DataHaven. The report also projected that around 58,000 Connecticut families would lose significant SNAP benefits after the shutdown ended.
Here’s what people are doing to help local families:
CAMPUS-WIDE FOOD DRIVE
On campus, Quinnipiac partnered with Hartford Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Network to host a university-wide food drive for the first time.
Donations are being collected across all three of Quinnipiac’s campuses from Nov. 13 until Dec. 5. Donations will be distributed among the Bobcat Food Share, Hartford Healthcare as well as the towns of Hamden and North Haven.
“We really just want to help people that… have found themselves in a food insecure position, be it because of SNAP benefits or rising grocery prices or whatever the case may be, we just want to be able to help our community and our neighbors,” Karla Natale, associate vice president of community partnerships & university events, said.
KEEFE COMMUNITY CENTER
Hamden’s Keefe Community Center food pantry has been running for over 30 years and has grown throughout its more than three decades, according to AnneMarie Karavas, the program specialist of the Town of Hamden Community Services. The pantry collects donations through food drives, private and public donations as well as monetary donations both in person or via mail.
The food bank mainly serves Hamden families, but also provides The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to anyone in the state.
In response to the shutdown, the pantry has added more spaces for appointments as well as packed TEFAP bags and handed them out on a walk-in basis.
Karavas explained that in November, the phones constantly rang and the number of people visiting the pantry were growing.
“We can’t keep up,” Karavas wrote.
QUINNIPIAC COTAD AND SOTA
The Quinnipiac Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates partnered with the Student Occupational Therapy Association to host an on-campus food drive from Nov. 4 through Nov. 21. All donations were given to both the Keefe Community Center and St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry in Middletown.
The organizations were inspired to run the food drive after learning that within the Middletown community is a large population of unhoused as well as housing-insecure people who rely on SNAP.
“As a recently appointed executive board we wanted to raise awareness about homelessness and contribute to their food supply as the holidays are approaching, and food insecurity becomes even more pressing,” Silvana Alarcon, chair of the coalition of occupational therapy advocates, wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
In addition to the disruptions to the SNAP program, Alarcon also wanted to take action in regard to the holiday season.
“Especially because this season revolves around holidays, gatherings, and food, we wanted to take the time to recognize and help a community that is often unseen and underserved,” Alarcon wrote.
