pantry

Her room was a small one off the kitchen that had once been a pickle pantry, and it still smelled sharply of vinegar, as if a barrel of sauerkraut were hidden someplace nearby.

North Hills Community Outreach, which runs three food pantries in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, saw an almost 50% increase in the number of people lining up for food last week.

So she heads to a food pantry near the base to stock up on boxes of pasta and cans of sauce.

While students can typically access the pantry every two weeks, they can collect staples once a week during the shutdown, a volunteer explained.

Amid the uncertainty over Snap funding, local governments have been helping direct recipients to charity food pantries which have been holding emergency drives.