WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Family of Faith Worship Center has experienced a 90% increase in demand at its food pantry during the federal government shutdown, going from serving more than 200 families daily to nearly 400.
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The local church has expanded beyond providing groceries to offer weekly hot meals, feeding around 200 people each week. Volunteer Toni Garcia, who experienced food insecurity as a single mother, now helps lead the expanded mission.
"I didn't have access to nutritional meals with my kids when I was a single mom, and now that I do, I want to give back and give that opportunity to people," Garcia said.
The hot meal program aims to ensure people "go to bed full, not go to bed starving," according to Garcia.
"Now that I am blessed, I am, I'm able to give back. That's what I wanna do," Garcia said.
Family of Faith is among dozens of local food pantries experiencing increased demand during the government shutdown, as many people face uncertainty about their government food assistance. According to Texas Health and Human Services, as of September, almost 32,000 people in McLennan County receive an average of $352 in SNAP benefits.
Pastor Ruben Andrade said the food pantry serves around 7,000 people each month and expects demand to continue growing.
"So this has increased, and we expect it, unfortunately, to increase as well as we go further into the holiday season," Andrade said.
The pastor said advance planning helped the church weather the shutdown by maintaining three months of future stock in their warehouse.
"I always try to plan ahead. So even before the government shutdown, I always try to maintain our warehouse in 3 months in the future stock. And so we were in a great position to be able to serve the families," Andrade said.
For those in need during the holidays, Family of Faith will prepare Thanksgiving boxes for families to take home and serve hot meals on Thanksgiving Day. The schedule for food distribution and hot meals is posted on the church's Facebook page.
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