11/20/2023

Food Banks’ Demand Surges Ahead of First Thanksgiving Without Pandemic Aid

They are seeing "unprecedented demand"

Since the federal government slashed COVID-19 pandemic-era food assistance in March, Tahjae Pitt has been skimping on laundry.

"I've got three bags of dirty clothes because I had to spend money on groceries," said Pitt, 26, a single mother in Southeast D.C. "I had to make sure my son had food."

Cutting the assistance, which had bolstered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, affected more than a million households like Pitt's in the D.C. area, according to a report from the nonprofit Food Research & Action Center. Now, as the country approaches its first Thanksgiving since such safety-net programs expired, some local food banks say the need is higher than it has been in years.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.