On Oct. 1, the federal government of the United States entered a shutdown after failing to pass congressional funding legislation. The shutdown lasted until Nov. 12, making it the longest government shutdown in American history.

As the shutdown continued, SNAP benefits–Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs–began to face issues with funding.

According to AP news, 42 million people in the United States receive monthly SNAP benefits, with these benefits averaging at $190 per person. These funds are specifically allotted to help lower-income individuals and families afford basic necessities such as groceries.

However, when the government shutdown continued into November, the SNAP benefits suddenly ran dry. That meant that many people who rely on these benefits could not access the money they needed for food supplies.

BYU-Idaho senior and biomedical science major Joshua Rawlings noticed the potential issues this would have for the community, and he came up with a response: to begin organizing a food drive to help people in Rexburg who needed extra support.

“I was hearing a lot of things about the government shutdown, and one of the big things I started to hear was that SNAP benefits were being cut,” said Rawlings. “I saw a lot of things for people who were personally impacted on Instagram talking about it, and it really just tugged at my heartstrings and I just wanted to do something.”

Rawlings was a service missionary in the Utah Orem Mission, and he said that gave him experience serving others in the community.

“I helped out a lot with people who needed extra support and love with food insecurity and other things as well,” Rawlings said. “Having that prior knowledge helped shift my perspective.”

Even though the shutdown did end Nov. 12, Rawlings said he still does see a need for a food drive like this.

“[The shutdown] was kind of the thing that pushed me over the fence to start this,” Rawlings said. “But it ending doesn’t change the fact that there still is a big need.”

Rawlings is also a nutrition minor. Around the time the shutdown caused SNAP funding to dry up, he was learning about the effects of food insecurity and why it is such a big problem, especially for children.

“One of the big sub-topics in that unit was food insecurity,” Rawlings said. “Having those thoughts in my mind and…the realization that, ‘wow, this impacts people, this is real.’ That’s what the shutdown did for me was show me this is a big problem that’s very, very prevalent.”

Rawlings pointed out that there are actually three food banks in town; the mobile food pantry, the Rexburg Soup Kitchen and the Family Crisis Center.

Rawlings initially reached out to the mobile food pantry for collaboration.

“Since they’re mobile, they don’t have a permanent place to store things so they directed me to the Family Crisis Center and I was able to contact them,” Rawlings said. “The nice thing is, they are all collaborating with each other, so if one needs extra food, the Family Crisis center is willing to help them out, or vice versa.”

According to Rawlings, the Family Crisis Center was very much willing to accept his help in gathering food to donate.

“I already had a plan in mind, I just presented that plan to them,” Rawlings said. “They were very willing to work with that and super flexible with how everything went. They were just glad to get anything that they could get.”

Rawlings said that the SNAP cuts, as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, could put more strain on the Family Crisis Center, and that they needed “a little extra help.”

According to Kristy Bradshaw, Victim Needs Coordinator at the Family Crisis Center, they serve about 275-300 families each week.

"The holiday season is always a time of higher need, and recent SNAP cuts from the government shutdown have placed even more strain on families," Bradshaw said. "Community support helps us keep shelves stocked and ensure families have access to essential food items during a difficult time."

Bradshaw said that she didn't speak to Rawlings directly, but it still "grateful when community members want to help support our food programs."

Once he had support from the Family Crisis Center, Rawlings began collecting by knocking doors around town and asking for donations.

“We went out [Nov. 14] and knocked doors to collect, and I was really happy with the results,” Rawlings said. “Every single person that answered their door either donated or they had previously donated in the last week. I was really impressed with the effort that’s already being made and the other food banks that are making these efforts and then the willingness for people to donate.”

Rawlings described the community as “supportive” and “tight-knit,” and said that has made it easier for him to obtain the donations he needed.

“Then the people who already had donated but were willing to donate again was really, really cool,” Rawlings said. “Everyone was super open and willing to it.”

The food bank at the Family Crisis Center distributes every Wednesday and Friday, starting at 11:30 a.m. for senior citizens and 12 p.m. for the general public.

Rawlings said that from what he has seen at the food bank, there is a wide variety of people who come in to get the supplies they need.

“It’s a mix between families and students,” Rawlings said. “And that really furthered the drive for me to go out and collect the food in Rexburg, because I realized there is a need here.”

Rawlings pointed out that it is important for people to know about the food banks in town so they would have the ability to both donate if they can or receive help if they need it.

“If people could donate, and know where to donate and how to donate, whether it’s to a drive like I’m doing or other people are doing, or whether it’s going directly to the soup kitchen and volunteering,” Rawlings said. “That’s a very, very important thing to directly help the community members.”

Rawlings hopes that his food drive initiative will, at least, spread the word about the Family Crisis center, especially for college students who may need the help that they offer.

“There are ways that they can receive support if they need that,” Rawlings said. “A lot of college students were really scraping by, and there’s probably a lot of us that do need a lot of support, and I think just being aware that there’s places that are set up to help support you in this time.”

Overall, Rawlings expressed gratitude for the network of support in Rexburg and all the people who are willing to give time or resources to help others.

“I think it’s really amazing that we have this great network set up with three places in Rexburg that are all coordinating together,” Rawlings said. “It’s really important to know that there’s places set up and designed to help give support.”