It’s too early to say empirically whether the government shutdown and federal cuts to nutrition programs are driving more people to local food pantries, but one thing is clear: the chaos in Washington is causing real fear on the Lower Cape.

 “Just from listening to the conversations of people in the waiting room, they’re terrified,” said Paul Lonergan, executive director of the Harwich-based Family Pantry of Cape Cod.

 The reduction and delay of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits is expected to force thousands of Cape Cod residents to need additional food, but with program cuts only a few days old, there may be a delay before the effects are known.

 Katie Wibby, CEO of Lower Cape Outreach Council, said the impacts can’t be fully quantified yet, but it’s important to note that the SNAP freeze isn’t the only new pressure on local families.

 “We have residents in our community who work for the federal government, like the National Seashore, who haven’t seen a paycheck for a month, [and] we also know that many healthcare premiums are about to increase,” she said. “We are also going into one of the most expensive times of the year for families, especially those with children, who are preparing for Thanksgiving and the holidays.” LCOC, which operates food pantries in all Lower Cape towns and provides financial assistance to families, has already seen a 25 percent increase in demand in 2025, she added. 

 “I expect that these additional factors are going to drive that number up significantly,” she said.

 The Family Pantry, likewise, can’t quantify how many clients are visiting because of government cuts. 

 “We don’t ask,” Lonergan said. “However, we had the busiest day the Pantry’s ever had last Thursday,” with 324 people coming in a single day, around 50 more than usual. On Saturday, the Pantry served 189 clients in three hours. Some of those clients expressed worry that the Family Pantry might close, and Lonergan assured them that it won’t, because the organization has secure sources of food, strong support from donors in the community, and backup plans in case of surges in demand. But Lonergan admits he worries about the very small community-based pantries he sees off-Cape.

 “I see pantries on TV that have a case of tuna fish next to six jars of mayonnaise,” Lonergan said. 

 The Family Pantry, which benefits from a large warehouse, has extra stock on hand to meet the additional demand. Wibby said that LCOC has similarly increased its food purchasing budget in anticipation of increased need.

 “The additional challenge, of course, is that the food available from the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) is limited, and therefore, LCOC will source more locally at a greater cost to the organization,” she said. While LCOC can still purchase food locally at below market rates, it won’t benefit from the steep discounts that GBFB offers pantries.

 Since the government shutdown, LCOC has had federal employees ask for help paying for rent and utilities. Some government workers who probably didn’t qualify for SNAP benefits when they were working are without that safety net now that they have no income.

 “There is a real concern...that we may not see these folks right away,” she said. “It may take several more weeks/months until they have exhausted savings or maxed out credit cards before they walk through our door. When we do finally connect with these families, they might be at a point of true crisis that will require more complex solutions.”

 Two federal judges ruled last week that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to keep paying SNAP benefits, rejecting the administration’s argument that they could not legally access those funds during the shutdown. The administration then announced that it would access some of those emergency monies to fund about half of the SNAP budget for November, meaning that recipients will eventually receive half of their normal benefits. Federal officials warned that it could take weeks to access the funds, however.

 The news prompted Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy to issue a sharply-worded statement Monday.

 “The Trump Administration just admitted what we have known all along — this funding was available this entire time and the president could have been using it to prevent American families from going hungry. Families should never have been put through this, and it shouldn’t have taken a court order to force President Trump to feed American families like every president before him,” she said. “The Trump Administration is now committing to using contingency funding to at least partially cover SNAP benefits. We are awaiting clarity on how much and when those benefits will be made available. But the president should not stop there. President Trump should commit to fully funding SNAP benefits and make these full benefits available as soon as possible.”

 In July, Gov. Healy visited the Family Pantry to learn about its operation, and Lonergan said he’s sure the visit helped inform the state’s response to the Washington funding crisis.

 “Had she not come here, she would’ve been informed by others. But she felt it and touched it, and knew what those clients do every time they come in here, and the importance of normalizing their lives,” he said. The situation in Washington is deeply troubling, Lonergan added.

 “I don’t care what side you’re on. You’re using people as a pawn,” he said.

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 ORLEANS – Lower Cape Outreach Council, which provides a variety of services to Lower Cape families experiencing need, is launching its annual fundraising campaign, “Gifts of Hope.”

 The campaign helps LCOC operate nine food pantries on the Lower and Outer Cape, as well as special holiday programs and emergency financial assistance to individuals and families in need. LCOC expects to open its newly expanded food pantry in Orleans in a couple of weeks, and the space will help the organization meet a sharp increase in demand for nutritious food.

 “We are asking those in the community who can support our work to give as generously as possible,” LCOC board President Jim Kivlehan wrote in a news release. “Their investments will have a profound impact on our community’s short- and long-term futures.”

 Gifts of Hope traditionally contributes nearly a third of LCOC’s annual budget. To make a donation, visit www.LCOutreach.org or mail a check to LCOC, P.O. Box 2013, Orleans, MA 02653.

 LCOC is also collecting frozen turkeys for distribution to clients before Thanksgiving. Turkeys of any size can be dropped off during a special collection to be held on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Farm, 40 Rock Harbor Rd., Orleans. Turkeys can also be donated at other times at LCOC’s headquarters at 19 Brewster Cross Rd., Orleans.