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As the federal shutdown disrupts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, food access organizations face increasing instability in providing services and information to Allston-Brighton.

Leaders of local organizations say that the shutdown builds upon months of uncertainty following an initial wave of SNAP restrictions in August. 

Matthew Rasure, who is the Director of Development at the Brighton Allston Congregational Church (404 Washington St) (BACC), helps run the Allston Brighton Food Pantry, which serves meals every Wednesday and hands out fresh produce on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month.

He says due to federal cuts, the food pantry has felt increasing pressure to meet demand for the past six to eight months.

Earlier this spring, the Trump administration cut down on food subsidies for organizations, such as the Greater Boston Food Bank, which supplies 30 to 35 percent of the food provided by the Allston Brighton Food Pantry. These cuts cause prices at the food bank to increase, squeezing the amount of supplies that the food pantry can purchase.

“Throughout the year, we were running way over budget, thinking about how we could pare back staffing, or, how we could shave off costs here or there to try to mobilize more money for more food,” says Rasure.

“We’re past the point of being able to accommodate that through institutional austerity, we have to have a broader community of support to help us fill that out.”

The food pantry has had to rely on other sources of supplies, including rescue groceries, which take unused produce from grocery stores and distributes them at the food pantry. BACC also operates a thrift store, of which the earnings go toward the food pantry. 

Rasure says that food pantries are in “fundraising panic mode” to raise enough money to get more supplies. 

Other organizations, such as the Food Access Committee run by the Allston Brighton Health Collaborative (ABHC), also face challenges with navigating the changing information landscape. Within a week of the disruption, several lawsuits resulted in partial reinstatement of benefits for some families. A few days later, another judge ordered full disbursal of SNAP benefits, which is now being challenged in the Supreme Court.

Jessi Rubin, who serves on the Food Access Committee for ABHC, says that these constant changes make distributing accurate information difficult. 

“It reminds me very much of COVID and figuring out as we go,” Rubin says. “New information [was] always being thrown at us during COVID. The same things are really happening with the federal SNAP cuts. There’s constantly new information. The story is constantly evolving. There are constantly new updates happening.” 

She says that residents should go to SNAP benefits on the Mass.Gov website for the most recent information.

Against the backdrop of uncertainty, both organizations have leaned on mutual aid and neighborhood support. Rasure says that the Brighton Center Community Fridge (404 Washington St), a refrigerator located outside of the church where neighbors could give or take food, takes some of the pressure off in meeting demand.

“The work of the community fridge takes very, very seriously the fact that not all of our neighbors are housed and not all of our neighbors have access to a working kitchen,” he says. “It is stocked with ready to eat things, so that if people are hungry at the moment or want to take something back to their house there, there is food there for them.”

Rasure also says that he has been working with other organizations, such as the Brighton Main Streets and the Charlesview Charitable Fund, to source financial support and donations toward purchasing more food from the Greater Boston Food Bank.

“I sent out an email on Thursday explaining that we need five thousand dollars in order to fulfill our additional food from Greater Boston Food Bank,” says Rasure. “Within 15 minutes of that email, Brighton Main Streets had pledged one thousand and we are almost the full five thousand now.”

“That will get us through November.”

In addition, Rubin says that she has been meeting with city and state organizations, such as the Mayor’s Office of Food Justice, which has been hosting weekly meetings for the last two weeks. Within these meetings, the city works with non-profits, such as Project Bread and Food Resource in Action Coalition, to create responses to the ever-evolving challenges. 

Amid these broader efforts, Rasure views the shutdown as a critical moment for collective mobilization at the neighborhood level. “We can’t back down right now, and we need our community to stand with us as we make that happen.” ■

Cover Image: Allston Brighton Food Pantry is bustling on a Saturday morning. By Joanna Lin.