NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Volunteers at East Nashville Care Market are busy keeping shelves stocked as the community food pantry sees a surge in families seeking help amid uncertainty about SNAP benefits during the government shutdown.

Board member Amanda Lutz says the market has begun supporting more families who have never visited the pantry before.

"So at ENCM, we are actually a full stocked neighborhood care market," Lutz said. "We're seeing about two dozen families that have not ever come into the pantry before — come in in the first two days of November that we served the community."

The pantry typically serves about 1,300 individuals every month, but the recent influx has required additional volunteer support.

MC Mercer, who has volunteered at the market for more than a decade,

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