Food banks face a ‘perfect storm’ of surging demand as shutdown drags on

Federal employee Antoinette Phillips collects food from a Capital Area Food Bank distribution center in Hyattsville, Maryland, on October 28, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters

Demand has doubled at a Washington, DC, food bank over the past few weeks, while another in Texas has been forced to dip into emergency hurricane reserve funds to meet demand. Meanwhile, a Florida charity is giving out 300,000 meals per day but, an official there says, “still it’s not enough.”

After a nearly monthlong government shutdown , the looming suspension of federal food benefits in November is poised to put millions of Americans at risk of going hungry — and food banks and other charities across the country face a bleak outlook as they head into a busy holiday season.

More than a dozen large and small char