The Market sees High Demand during Government Shutdown and SNAP Uncertainty
In the earliest days of the federal government shutdown, The HAPCAP for Health Market and Training Hub, a member of the SE Ohio Foodbank, continued its quiet, steady work of helping neighbors find the food they needed to get through. During that first week, 197 households visited the pantry — a number that already reflected how many families depend on local support to supplement limited budgets.
But as the shutdown stretched on and the delay of SNAP benefits created uncertainty for thousands across the region, more and more people began turning to The Market for help. In the two weeks that followed, demand surged: 306 households were served one week, followed by 348 the next — a 76.6% increase from week one. By that time, 288 households who had never before accessed The Market’s services walked in for the first time, many sharing that they simply didn’t know where else to go.
The pantry experienced its two busiest days ever, serving 101 families on two back-to-back days. Behind each of those visits was a story, a family, and a moment of decision — to ask for help, to stretch what they had, and to keep going.
One of those stories belongs to 22-year-old Emily Renat, a young mother raising a nine-month-old daughter. She counts on both SNAP and WIC to help keep healthy food in the house. During the shutdown, she found herself watching and waiting, unsure of when benefits would arrive, or if they would arrive at all.
“Right now we just hope and pray that it hits and if it doesn’t then, you know, you just figure it out,” she said. “It’s pretty stressful… feeding myself. But at the same time, as long as my daughter’s fed, it doesn’t really matter about me in this moment.”
While navigating that uncertainty, Emily turned to The Market, located just a few minutes from the SE Ohio Foodbank’s warehouse in Logan.
“I depend on this place... to just come and get some food for myself,” she shared. “And it’s nice that they do this for people.”
Emily’s words echo what many families have been feeling — not just hunger, but the emotional weight of food insecurity: the planning, the waiting, the quiet worry, and the determination to give children what they need even when systems falter.
But Emily, like many Appalachian families, is resilient. Reaching for support today so she can keep providing love, safety, and nourishment for her child every day that follows.
The shutdown has ended, but the impact has not. The Market continues to meet record-level demand, standing alongside neighbors through moments of uncertainty, transition, and recovery — offering not just food, but stability, choice, and care when it matters most.
