Since November Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program payments have been delayed and reduced after the government shutdown, some Bloomington groups have offered help to those affected.
After the United States Department of Agriculture initially announced SNAP benefits would not be distributed in November, the government has gone back and forth on whether it will pay out full benefits for the month and when. The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to extend a pause on a federal judge’s order that the Trump administration must pay out SNAP benefits, giving the government time to potentially reopen and fund the program.
Women Empowering Women at IU, IU’s chapter of a women’s networking organization, started a food drive following their biweekly meeting on Oct. 29. The club’s philanthropy department started the food drive and asked WEW members to collect items to bring to its next meeting.
“With government shutdown, a lot of people in this area are going to be impacted,” Ava Galliher, the WEW philanthropy co-chair, said. “So we thought that a food drive could be a quick and effective way to kind of step up in that way.”
Macee Long, the founder of WEW at IU, said the philanthropy department put on the food drive after WEW secretary Lilly Grimes suggested the organization do something to help individuals who might miss their November SNAP payments. Grimes said she has been following the government shutdown in the news.
“I'm Type 1 diabetic, and it's really scary for me because I'm also low income and rely on insurance heavily, and the SNAP benefits being cut really just hit me deep,” Grimes said. “Many families of Type 1 diabetics have SNAP benefits, like they need that to survive.”
Bloomington resident Jenny Kellett has been giving out fresh groceries to families in need, including eggs from her chickens and items from her own pantry. Kellett said since the presidential election in November 2024, she has been saving coupons.
“I was pretty sure something like this was gonna happen,” Kellett said.
Since asking families who use SNAP to contact her on Facebook for fresh groceries, Kellett said, she has used the coupons to purchase items families request and combined them with items from her own pantry. Since the post went up, she has helped seven families with 12 bags of groceries total, she said.
“They're all just normal people, and they're in a situation that a lot of people could easily get themselves into through no fault of their own, and they just need a little extra help,” Kellett said. “Being nourished is like the basis of everything else in life, and this is going to have massive ripple effects in all sorts of places that we didn't expect.”
Ashley Chandler, the co-owner of Rewind Records in Bloomington, made a Facebook post in early November offering free records and CDs to SNAP users who had lost their benefits.
The table outside of Rewind Records offers classic records from groups like the Eagles to pick up. It also collects donations for Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which added 10 semi-trucks worth of food for their Emergency Response Plan in response to the loss of SNAP benefits. Chandler got the idea to help out after seeing a Reddit post asking what Bloomington locals could do for SNAP users.
“I just thought that, you know, maybe giving away records and CDs would be a fun but realistic way that we could try to support the community,” Chandler said.
Chandler said when she sees a customer so excited about an item they may not have the money for, she lets them have it. She said while no customers have specifically mentioned being on SNAP, people have made donations and taken from the free records pile. Chandler said she remembers a Carpenters record helping her get through a “chaotic time” at age 11.
“I would put that record on and sink into my carpet, and Karen's voice made me feel like I was okay and things would be okay,” Chandler said. “And I think it's maybe because of that, you know, I feel like music can really have an impact on people, and it's a very small thing that I can do that may have a huge impact.”
