Easton-area food banks and residents alike have been strained since food stamps lapsed on Saturday during the federal government shutdown. Combined with Pennsylvania’s four-month budget impasse and already high levels of food insecurity, local nonprofits are facing more demand from residents with fewer resources at their disposal.
Although a federal court ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to pay SNAP benefits during the shutdown in a hearing last Friday, payments remained delayed as the administration has sent mixed messages regarding its compliance with the order.
Daniel Mino, a corps commanding officer for the Easton Salvation Army, said his organization was struggling to meet demand despite corporate support from Wawa, Walmart and Wegmans.
“They don’t have enough for the food banks in the area,” Mino said. “It’s very limited what we can get, so we are struggling this month.”
Mino added that the Easton Salvation Army saw 75 new clients last month on top of its usual crowd of 180, and expects even more in November due to the funding lapse.
Allison Czapp, the executive director of Easton Neighborhood Center, said that nonprofits were not getting reimbursed on state grant money during the impasse.
“Everybody’s feeling the pinch,” Czapp said. “Money is just not flowing to the nonprofit sector, and this is another kick in the teeth.”
Twenty-one percent of Easton households received SNAP benefits, according to the 2023 American Community Survey.
In the greater Lehigh Valley, just over 106,000 residents receive SNAP benefits, according to a study by United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, and over 40% of the area live paycheck-to-paycheck. Nationally, SNAP served an average 41.7 million people per month during the 2024 fiscal year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
“The most horrendous thing is that these people are our neighbors,” Czapp said. “These aren’t strangers extracting resources from our community. These are people who live next to us.”
Local businesses also face challenges as SNAP-reliant customers lose access to benefits, according to Easton Farmers’ Market manager Emily Roland.
“A lot of small businesses accept and rely on SNAP dollars to help support themselves,” Roland said. “It would be a pretty significant financial hit to them if they aren’t seeing those benefits.”
“Community support is the most sustainable thing we have,” she continued. “It’s the fabric of resilience.”
Mark Reid, the manager of Easton Garden Works, added that food banks had already experienced some shortages and were asking for more supplies.
“Our pantries are asking us to give them anything they can, because they’re starting to see empty shelves,” Reid said.
In light of the benefit cuts, other Easton-area charities and organizations are pitching in to help.
Richann Hunisker said her ministry, Warm Hearts in PA, is adding a Monday community meal to its weekly Wednesday offering.
“We’re worried because we want to provide for the community,” Hunisker said. “But I think where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Easton Farmers’ Market is also hosting a community food drive on Saturday for ProJeCt of Easton and the Neighborhood Center’s food pantries.
A case manager from ProJeCt of Easton, a city social services organization, declined to comment, citing busy workloads stemming from the benefits pause.
At Lafayette College, Landis program MOSAIC leadership coordinator Hope Basaman ‘26 said that the organization plans to pack snack bags for local elementary schools on Nov. 20.
“It’s really important for Lafayette to be involved in these situations,” she said. “We need to make sure everyone’s learning and engaging as best possible.”
Clara Witmer ‘27 contributed reporting.
A correction was made on Jan. 12, 2026: An earlier version of this article cited U.S. Census data from another publication. That data does not exist and was seemingly generated by artificial intelligence.