HIAWATHA, Iowa (KCRG) - Even with the federal government set to reopen, eastern Iowa food assistance providers say the demand they’ve seen over the past month isn’t slowing down.

The Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) says the government shutdown — and the pause on SNAP benefits that came with it — pushed many families to local food pantries for the first time. And even though the shutdown is ending, HACAP staff expect that need to continue.

“We’ve seen a huge increase, not just in the food we’re putting out, but at local pantries,” said HACAP spokesperson Chris Ackman. “More people are having to utilize them who maybe didn’t have to in the past.”

Ackman says HACAP spent nearly 1/3 of its entire annual food purchasing budget in just the last six weeks and is a sign of how str

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