Neighbors step up as shutdown stretches SNAP recipients' budgets

Dominique Lewis walks past cars lining Wayne Avenue as they wait to get into the Lincoln Heights Outreach drive-thru food pantry.

She's got an umbrella in one hand to shield her from the snow. In the other hand, she's got a gallon of milk and a large sack of food.

Lewis is rushing to get to work but had to stop into the pantry. She says the government shutdown has made it hard to know if she'll be able to afford food.

“With the SNAP issues going on, I didn’t know if I’d have enough to get food items for Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d come out,” she says.

Lincoln Heights Outreach is doing the special Monday food distribution in conjunction with the Hamilton County 513 Relief Bus . It's in response to the disruption in SNAP benefits. Outreach Program Manager Tess Balsley says their pantr