November 4, 2025
The food bank has already seen a surge in interested customers amid SNAP funding shortages.
An Atlanta Food Bank is looking into its own monetary reserves to feed families as the SNAP funding shortages get\ underway.
The Atlanta Community Food Bank supplies groceries to nearly 700 pantries across north Georgia. Given the number of families in need as SNAP funding remains in limbo, the food bank has dug into its own reserves to keep food on Georgia families’ tables.
The Food Bank has already seen a surge in interested participants since SNAP was on the brink of being cut off. While federal judges have ordered payouts anyway, as state governments also pick up the slack, families can still head to local resources during the legal battles.
“We’re still going to be dealing with some elevated demand. Lines are getting longer at food pantries all across North Georgia. The number of people coming to our website, looking for help, has gone up 500 percent since the beginning of the month,” shared Kyle Waide, CEO of the food assistance nonprofit, to Fox5.
In the wake of this, the Atlanta Community Food Bank has pulled $5 million from its reserves to purchase even more food to fill its anticipated needs. The Trump administration has also decided to pull funding similarly. They have since taken out $4.65 billion from the SNAP program’s contingency fund.
However, the news comes only after a Rhode Island judge ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep SNAP benefits standing. The Trump administration has confirmed that only partial SNAP payments will be allocated. While Trump could have ordered the full benefits by drawing funds from other sources, he decided to draw solely from the contingency fund for undisclosed reasons.
However, this flux of updates and partial payouts may not be enough for many families. Waide also thinks the delayed benefits will have food-insecure households looking to resources like theirs for help.
“The SNAP benefits won’t start flowing again, I would anticipate, for a few weeks,” Waide said. “We’re expecting a big surge in demand over the next week or two as people try to figure out where they’re going to get food.”
As for what will happen next month if the shutdown continues, anxious families remain in the dark. In the meantime, local food pantries and city-wide food banks are gearing up to keep residents fed.
RELATED CONTENT: Atlanta Leaders Declare Food Emergency, Halts Water Shutoffs Amid Federal SNAP Threat
