With federal food assistance in limbo and millions of Americans facing a possible lapse in benefits starting November 1, several Walker County restaurants are stepping up to make sure no family goes hungry.
Leading the charge is Pie Slingers, which announced plans this week to provide free meals to families affected by a potential shutdown of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The movement began when the owner of Baby Hughies in Rock Spring posted on Facebook that the restaurant would feed two families of four, twice a week, at no charge, as long as SNAP benefits remain suspended. That act of generosity sparked a chain reaction across the county.
Now, Fernando’s, Legion Café Battlefield Post 214, The Village Goat, and Yum Yum’s have joined Baby Hughies and Pie Slingers in pledging to serve meals to those in need until federal funds resume.
The Georgia Department of Human Services announced Tuesday that families can still use any unspent SNAP benefits from previous months through November. However, no new benefits will be distributed until Congress approves additional funding, according to a memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program.
Without new funding, thousands of Georgia families could find themselves struggling to make ends meet. But in Walker County, at least, the restaurant community is showing that when times get tough, neighbors take care of neighbors.