Food insecurity persists among Riverhead families in need, even after SNAP benefits are restarted

With the end of the federal government shutdown, New York has issued November SNAP benefits providing food assistance to low-income families. But the resumption of the benefit program doesn’t eliminate food insecurity altogether — not by a longshot.

The maximum monthly benefit varies by household size, from $298 for a single person to $994 for a family of four. To be eligible for SNAP, gross household incomes cannot exceed $23,484 per year for a single person and $48,228 per year for a family of four (where all members of the household are under age 60.)

With food prices rising higher than overall inflation, more families are  struggling to put food on the table, and more people are turning to food pantries to fill the gaps. More people were seeking food assistance at food pantries even before the shutdown and the delay in November SNAP payments.

The uncertainty about whether or when SNAP benefits would be paid increased anxiety and demand at food pantries in November, said Michael Haynes of Long Island Cares-The Harry Chapin Food Bank, which distributes food to 330 food pantries and soup kitchens in Suffolk and Nassau..

But that’s only part of the story. 

‘We saw a 20% increase in demand for our services in October of 2025, compared to September of 2025,” Haynes said. “It’s not just due to the shutdown. It’s affordability, it’s everything else.”

That’s exactly the experience at local food pantries, according to the people who run them.

“We have absolutely seen a higher demand at the pantry,” said Jessica Ruiz of St John’s Parish Outreach in Riverhead. “We’re seeing families and individuals who have never needed assistance before, including seniors and working adults who simply can’t make ends meet,” she said.

Demand was up about 30% at local pantries even before “the SNAP whiplash,” as Open Arms Care Center coordinator Zona Story called it. Stroy said Open Arms has been seeing 20 to 30 new clients each day. The pantry distributes food two days a week.  

Ruiz pointed out that the pantry is “facing new challenges in meeting these needs.”

For example, meat is in short supply.

“Meat distributions are difficult to keep up with, as they go immediately as soon as we receive them,” Ruiz said.

Gwen Mack, who runs the food pantry at Church of the Harvest, said the same thing. In addition to meats, the church’s food pantry needs cereal — and jelly. “People donate peanut butter but not jelly,” she said.

Mack said the church’s food pantry recently saw an increase in demand from 60 clients per week to 95.

The pantries try to meet some of the other needs of struggling families. 

Ruiz said the parish outreach tries but struggles to keep a supply of diapers on its shelves for families in need. “Diapers fly off our shelves. They are one of the hardest items to keep stocked. 

Mack said the Church of the Harvest Pantry is currently collecting coats. 

Community support is important to all of the pantries in meeting the needs of local families. “It’s what allows us to face the food insecurities affecting so many families right now,” Ruiz said.

All pantries are in need of donations of food and/or monetary contributions to help them buy food.

St. John’s Parish Outreach will host a Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the parish cafeteria. And it will distribute turkeys on Monday, Nov. 24 from 10 a.m, to noon, on a first-come, first-serve basis, while supplies last, Ruiz said. (Photo ID or pantry card required for the turkey distribution.)