Photo courtesy of Rachel Ventress.
While the federal government shutdown threatened to pause SNAP benefits early November, entities in Nome were already mobilizing to fill the gap, from regional organizations to local community members.
When Nome resident Rachel Ventress heard about delayed SNAP payments, she reached out to a local Facebook group.
“And I just asked what people were anticipating, if there were other efforts happening. And several people suggested a community potluck. And I thought, ‘Well, that’s something that I could definitely organize’,” Ventress said.
Ventress asked her church if it could host a potluck, and invited other church groups and community members, too. Donations of shelf stable food and potluck dishes poured in.
“I feel like it was successful on all the fronts. The community really rallied to provide goods and to provide food, and then it seemed that it was needed, because everything that was provided was used,” Ventress said.
At Nome’s XYZ Senior Center, the Nome Community Center Food Bank organized volunteers to pack food boxes for those in need.
Families were invited to stop in to grab a box and Nome Eskimo Community offered rides and delivery for those homebound. Nome resident Hailey Silook McCully picked up food for her family.
“Yeah, I have a elderly dad who’s cut off and it’s pretty hard on him. And this helps a lot. I’m grateful for what they’re doing and helping with their community, their elders and kids out here. Nobody’s going to go hungry,” McCully said.
Additionally, Kawerak Inc., the regional tribal nonprofit, which serves Nome and the 20 federally recognized tribes in the Bering Strait Region, funded the food box project, which supported a week’s worth of food for families in need.
