Henrico County’s government schools, food banks and citizens are collaborating to help keep food on the tables of Henricoans in need.
As the federal shutdown continues, families of SNAP benefit recipients and federal workers face the prospect of empty pantries. More than 37,000 Henrico residents rely on SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A state emergency initiative will help provide temporary benefits to SNAP recipients beginning the first week of November. Henrico County and HCPS are working with the Feed More food bank and other community organizations to meet demand and help bridge gaps and delays. The county has pledged $100,000 to Feed More to help stock the organization’s shelves.
The commonwealth's Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance initiative will only go into effect if the federal government shutdown continues Nov. 1. Benefits will be loaded onto existing SNAP/EBT cards; no new cards are needed. Anyone who received SNAP benefits in October will be eligible for the assistance. Learn more at the Henrico County website.
What can you do?
Get assistance or help out: Find a local food pantry, or volunteer or donate to Feed More.
Help the Henrico Christmas Mother campaign: HCPS schools are collecting shelf-stable food for the Henrico Christmas Mother campaign to help neighbors in need. Watch for information from your school about how to donate. You can also donate funds to the campaign or sign up to volunteer.