PORTSMOUTH — With federal food assistance caught in the crossfire of the ongoing government shutdown, local food pantries across Rhode Island are feeling the strain — and stepping up to meet it.

In Portsmouth alone, 683 residents who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have either had their benefits frozen or reduced. The fate of those payments remains uncertain after President Donald Trump threatened this week to withhold funds for 42 million Americans until the shutdown ends, despite court orders directing him to resume payments.

At the Aquidneck Food Pantry on Sprague Street, Outreach Coordinator Marcella Bauer said the ripple effects are already clear.

“Normally on Wednesday, we serve about 50 families,” Bauer said. “This Wednesday, we serviced over 100.”

Bauer said the sudden surge is directly tied to the suspension of federal benefits. “We’ve served quite a few families because of the impact from the shutdown, so that’s affecting folks — the money that they’re receiving, their SNAP benefits,” she said.

The pantry, which typically serves about three dozen volunteers and a dozen board members, has been inundated with both need and generosity. “Normally, we’ll have maybe 10 people here,” Bauer said. “But because of what’s going on, I put a call out.”

That call was answered. “We normally have maybe six, seven, work on a night before, Thursday night,” she said. “We must have had at least 30 volunteers to help unload and to prepare for today.”

Busier than ever

The pantry’s parking lot was full Friday as donors and helpers arrived. Ocean State Air Solutions pulled up with a truckload of food while Bauer was speaking with a reporter. “I did a call out yesterday on Facebook, and we’ve been getting a lot of donations this morning,” she said.

Local businesses and schools have joined the effort. Provencal Bakery donated food last week, and Hathaway School’s Parent-Teacher Association held a “Fun Walk” to collect nonperishable items for the pantry. “You know, you put the call out and the Portsmouth community is just phenomenal,” Bauer said. “All the donations that we receive are by this town, the community.”

Cash also helps keep the shelves stocked. “Cash is always welcome — people can pay through Venmo, PayPal, etc. Gift cards, too,” Bauer said. 

In addition to nonperishables, Bauer said the pantry accepts and distributes fresh food. “Produce — we’ll buy our own bananas, apples,” she said. “BJ’s also donates to us. They’ll donate items that are just at that edge where they can sell. We’ll get gallons of milk from them. We’ll get lettuce, peppers. We also get bakery goods from BJ’s. And that’s usually on a Friday.”

She added that BJ’s supplies “some raw chicken, we get hot dogs,” and that the pantry prefers items that can be frozen. “We have two large refrigeration units, a freezer and a fridge,” she said.

Bauer said she’s hopeful for a resolution to the shutdown. “Well, I hope that Congress gets together,” she said. “If not, maybe President Trump will have to step up to the plate and force their hand. Yeah. Because not only is it affecting SNAP, the people who need it, but it’s affecting military and other folks, too. I just hope that something will happen prior to Thanksgiving.”

“It scares us to know or frightens me to know that we may have to do this for the next couple months,” she added.

About 75 percent of the pantry’s regular clients are elderly or families, Bauer said. “You have elderly folks that are on Social Security,” she said. “They may not be on SNAP.”

To meet growing needs, the pantry is seeking additional support from the Rhode Island Foundation. “If we do get in with Rhode Island Foundation, then potentially we would be able to get funds from that,” Bauer said.

Volunteers pitching in

Longtime volunteer Rosemary Buckley said the rush of clients has made the pantry’s volunteer crew more important than ever. Clients from the nonprofit James L. Maher Center in Middletown, which services people with developmental and other disabilities, "come Wednesday and Friday for a couple of hours and fill bags for us to give out to the clients,” she said. “They’re very dedicated, and they’re very good. They have a supervisor with them, and we really appreciate their help, because some days, we need it badly.”

Buckley described the pantry’s rhythm as steady but demanding. “We’re open Wednesday and Friday, 10 to 4, but Monday I come to take the bread out of the freezer, box it up, that takes about an hour and a half,” she said. “And Tuesday night and Thursday night, we prepare for the following day.”

“I have never been associated with a better group of people,” Buckley said. “People really care about each other.”

Meanwhile, the community continues to rally. People’s Credit Union announced a $50,000 donation to six local food pantries, including Aquidneck Food Pantry. 

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Newport has also appealed for more donations, citing the same crisis. Nonperishable food and toiletry items can be donated Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the loading dock at 20 Dr. Marcus Wheatland Boulevard, Newport. Visit mlkccenter.org to learn more on how to help.

For now, Bauer said, Portsmouth residents are keeping each other afloat. “You put the call out,” she said, “and the Portsmouth community is just phenomenal.”