AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
Since the government shutdown, the St. Charles Service Ministry food bank in North Hollywood has experienced a surge in visitors, doubling from around 25 to over 50 daily. Volunteers like Sally Richter are struggling to keep up with the increased demand, packing bags of food for growing lines of people in need. Director Paul Manning attributes the crisis to people not receiving SNAP benefits, calling it unprecedented. The food bank is facing dwindling supplies, struggling to serve the influx of new clients desperately seeking assistance.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
The number of visitors at a Los Angeles food bank has doubled since the government shutdown.
Sally Richter, who volunteers as a food distributor at St. Charles Service Ministry in North Hollywood, told CNN she used to see about 25 visitors on Sundays. Now, she said, there are over 50 every day they’re open.
Richter said it has been “very frustrating” working through the government shutdown as she has noticed people lining up around the parking lot.
She packs bags filled with food and supplies, depending on the size of the household and their current living conditions.
The line just keeps growing, she said. “People need help right now,” Richter added.
“We are tremendously impacted right now because of people not getting their SNAP benefits,” Paul Manning, Director of St. Charles Service Ministry, told CNN. “These are just unprecedented times. I’ve never seen it like this.”
Manning said he has seen so many new clients and so many people calling and asking if they serve food.
According to Manning and Richter, the food bank is running out of supplies.
