DES MOINES, Iowa —

The Urbandale Food Pantry experienced an unprecedented surge in demand Saturday morning as families lined up hours before opening, driven by delays in electronic benefit transfer funds during the ongoing government shutdown.

Patty Sneddon-Kisting, CEO of the Urbandale Food Pantry, said the first arrivals showed up as early as 6:30 a.m.

The pantry, which typically sees a busy start to the month and an especially high-demand November, broke records this weekend. In just four hours, the pantry served 112 families — surpassing the previous record of fewer than 90.

“This week alone, we had 125 brand new families come to the pantry who had never received a service before,” Sneddon-Kisting said.

She added that the ongoing delay in EBT funds is intensifying a “scarcity mind

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