Food pantries and food banks are considered the last line of defense in security, according to Perdue.
“We are an emergency provider when everything else have failed,” he said. “We are already struggling to stock the shelves of our pantries, and for us to experience the insurmountable increase of people who are going to look to us for help is absolutely not sustainable.”
Almost 40,000 Butler County residents will likely lose their SNAP food assistance Saturday due to the federal government shutdown, and area food pantries and businesses are gearing up to prepare.
Butler County Job and Family Services administers federal programs for the county. Executive Director Julie Gilbert told the Journal-News nearly 36,800 residents have received $66.4 million in SNAP benefits so far this year. Last year almost 37,000 people received $91.7 million.
November SNAP benefits will be impacted if the shutdown continues, but recipients will be able to access any remaining balances in their account after Friday, according to ODJFS spokesman Tom Betti. Some federal lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Upper Arlington, are trying to fund SNAP even through the shutdown.
Husted said a the bill Keep SNAP Funded Act would appropriate funds to provide uninterrupted SNAP benefits and make it retroactive to the start of the shutdown.
“About 1.4 million Ohioans rely on SNAP to put food on the table. Ohio families shouldn’t pay the price for Washington’s political games,” said Husted, who asked asked the Senate financial clerk to withhold his salary during the shutdown. “We cannot allow millions of innocent Americans to go without the benefits they rely on.”
Perdue said the shutdown has dried up funding and benefits, and Shared Harvest “already experienced this year losing literally millions of pounds of food that we’ve depended on from federal sources that were cut earlier this year back in March and April.”
“We already sent out an S.O.S. and our pantries are desperate to fill their shelves, so this news (of cut SNAP benefits) is dire. It’s absolutely dire,” he said. “Food we keep in our warehouse, we don’t put that in reserve. As soon as it comes in, it goes back out.”
Pam Benson, director of the Village Food Pantry in New Miami, said the location saw 400 people come through last week.
Village Food Pantry at 617 N. Riverside Drive is a “choice pantry,” meaning clients can choose their own groceries. Clients can come every week for the choice pantry, but can only use the drive-thru food pantry once a month.
Benson said the food pantry is seeing a shift with some clients coming in more frequently, which began around the time of the federal government shutdown.
“They’re concerned,” she said. “We’re concerned ... all you can do is give them what you got.”
Benson said inventory for food pantries is low “everywhere.”
Felix Russo, pastor and director of New Life Mission in Hamilton said last year they helped about 40 families a day, but recently that’s ranged to upwards to 50 to 70 families a day. In the third quarter of 2025, there were 720 households helped and “the numbers keep going up.”
New Life Mission also connects people with resources they need, such as with Job and Family Services and Access Counseling, but with the way the economy has been and the uncertain of the shutdown, “I’m not sure what’s going to happen next month if (the shutdown continues).”
Open Door Food Pantry said they’re fortunate their largest fundraiser of the year is this Sunday, a concert at The Presbyterian Church, 23 S. Front St., Hamilton. But a prolonged shutdown could them, said pantry board chair Jeremy Pruett.
“It can happen very quickly,” he said. “Benefits are already being diminished.”
Shared Harvest and Open Door Pantry both shared on their Facebook pages benefits will not be issued in November unless Congress ends the shutdown.
“Benefits have been minimized tremendously, which has already put a bigger burden upon pantries in local communities trying to meet needs,” Pruett said. And the longer benefits are minimized or halted, “makes it harder for each person.”
“It just compounds that struggle on top of the additional funds that are already going to be needed.”
To help with this, eleven Middletown businesses have organized a community food drive, asking for non-perishable food items and/or monetary donations.
Most needed items include canned vegetables, beans and soup; rice, pasta and cereal; shelf-stable milk and baby formula; peanut butter and canned protein; and cooking oil and spices.
People can drop off donations at the following locations:
- Aimee’s Produce, 380 Middletown Eaton Road
- Bourbons Kitchen, 2231 N. Verity Parkway
- Broken Barrel Bar and Grill, 2200 Central Ave.
- Downtown Middletown Inc., 1050 Central Ave., Floor 2
- Gravel Road Brewing Co., 916 First Ave.
- Name Brandt Distilling, 4563 Roosevelt Blvd.
- NEW Ales Brewing, 1330 Manchester Ave.
- Sorg Opera House, 63 S. Main St.
- The Cracked Pot, 2024 Central Ave.
- Triple Moon Coffee Company, 1100 Central Ave.
- White Dog Distilling Co., 1357 Central Ave.
Businesses will gather donations and bring to local food pantries.
Triple Moon Coffee Company will also be matching food donations.
“Every can, box and dollar makes a difference,” a Facebook post from the coffee shop said. “Let’s show once again how strong our community can be when we come together.”
Denise Callahan contributed to this story.
OPEN DOOR FOOD PANTRY CONCERT
The Open Door Food Pantry’s 33rd annual Spiritual Music Benefit Concert fundraiser is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at The Presbyterian Church, 23 S. Front St., Hamilton.
This is the pantry’s largest annual fundraiser and showcases musicians who donate their time to perform. This year includes The Butler Philharmonic Chorus, The Presby Praise Team, The Sycamore Community Singers, The Presby Choir and The Oxford Ramblers.
For more information or to donate, visit opendoorfoodpantry.org.
BUTLER COUNTY PANTRIES
Online support for Shared Harvest Food Bank or any of the 32 food pantries can be provided at sharedharvest.org/give-help or bit.ly/ButlerCountyPantries
