There are heroes showing up in the ongoing mess of our federal government’s shutdown and the Trump administration’s apparent inability to understand its impact on average Americans. The heroes showing up in our community are trying to bridge that gap.
Locally, nearly 5,400 low-income Bartholomew County residents face going hungry after the Trump administration decided to pay only half of the SNAP benefits promised to them, with President Trump only doing it because of court orders.
Food assistance for November under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, lapsed on Saturday after the Trump administration initially refused to tap billions in reserve funds Congress had designated for the program in the event of funding emergencies, The Associated Press reported.
Columbus’ Love Chapel and its executive director Kelly Daugherty are seeing near record levels of requests for assistance, and expect those numbers to increase as the government shutdown continues and there is more uncertainty about food benefits.
A total of 97 families turned up at the food pantry seeking help with groceries in three hours on Saturday, just shy of the all-time record of 104 families served in a single day in December 2024, Daugherty said. On Monday, Love Chapel served an additional 88 families in three hours.
A total of 5,382 Bartholomew County residents — 2,735 households — received a collective $1.01 million in SNAP benefits in September, according to the latest data from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Love Chapel puts the number of affected local households at more than 3,000.
Individual SNAP recipients in Bartholomew County received an average of $187.82 in September, according to FSSA. Local households received an average of $369.59.
About 6,000 Bartholomew County residents — around 1,500 families — turn to Love Chapel for food each month, Daugherty said. At least two-thirds of them receive SNAP benefits.
Love Chapel generally spends “somewhere in the neighborhood” of $350,000 to $360,000 per month on food, Daugherty said. Even if local residents receive half of their SNAP benefits this month, that could add demand for an additional $500,000 in food this month.
“We have to prepare for the worst,” Daugherty said. “…We’re going under the premise that nobody is going to receive any payments in the month, and that we’re going to try and meet the needs the best we can under those circumstances.”
Love Chapel has started a SNAP Benefit Relief Fund for online donations at givebutter.com/iDIOrP. So far, a local business has donated $25,000, while Love Chapel’s foundation has “levied up” $15,000 and at least eight to 10 people dropped off food donations on Monday, Daugherty said.
Now, across the country, and in Columbus, people are stepping forward to do what the Trump administration and Republicans are refusing to do.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office has started its annual canned food drive, and will be at Sams Club in Columbus from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Sunday, and at JayC in Columbus from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 15 and 16. Unexpired and nonperishable food may also be dropped off in donation boxes in the lobby of the sheriff’s office or the courthouse downtown. All donations are being given to Love Chapel and Salvation Army.
Cummins provided a grant to the Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation to clear out all negative account balances for BCSC students. Centra provided $30,000 in cash assistance for Love Chapel and the Community Center of Hope.
The Salvation Army has begun its red kettle campaign, hoping to receive monetary donations that will help feed the hungry this holiday season.
We are grateful for these efforts and their work, and now it’s our turn to step up. Give what you can. Each time you do, you are helping alleviate hunger in our own community.
