Responding with heaps of help to prevent hunger as effects of shutdown, SNAP cutoff persist
- Ellie Ruel
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
Hunger Jam fundraiser, more meals for those in need among heightened efforts by Juneau organizations and individuals
By Ellie Ruel and Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Meals every day — let alone three of them — are less certain than ever these days for Thomas May and some of his friends. Hundreds of people in Juneau took part in efforts Saturday to provide a hot meal and more lasting help for weeks ahead for residents like him feeling a heightened need.
"This place has been a godsend — dead serious," he said while eating an evening meal during a Hunger Jam fundraising concert at Resurrection Lutheran Church. "If we haven’t got the food from here and coming from our food bank I wouldn’t make it."
May and two friends dropped by the kitchen and dining area in the church’s basement where food was being served, while on the floor above various music groups spent nearly five hours performing sets ranging from Christmas carols to blues-rock. The online "telethon" scheduled to accept donations until Friday had raised about $4,200 toward its $10,000 goal as of Monday morning on behalf of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank.
Earlier during the day about 3,300 pounds of food — 800 pounds more than a year ago — had been collected during the Juneau Central Labor Council’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, which provides the donations to the food bank, Love INC, St. Vincent de Paul Juneau’s Thanksgiving basket program, and Juneau Animal Rescue.
“I think this year, what we're feeling is a little bit more community give back,” said Shannan Adamson. “This is one of those events where you go home at the end of it exhausted but in an amazing way.”
The rise in such efforts is occurring due to a record-length federal government shutdown now exceeding 40 days that, among other impacts, has kept many locals from receiving paychecks and food assistance benefits. Karen Lawfer, an organizer of the Hunger Jam who was helping serve food in the church’s basement, said up to 300 people are visiting the church’s weekly food pantry compared to about 200 a year ago.
"We've seen four to nine new families every week," she said.
A further complication is the higher cost of food in Alaska, which got national attention Sunday in an article published by The New York Times. Sylvia Geraghty, 87, a Juneau resident, told the newspaper on Sunday her SNAP benefits had not arrived so far and she was avoiding going to the grocery store as much as possible.
"She was using spare food in her freezer, leftover potatoes from her garden and eggs from chickens she kept," the newspaper reported.
While members of the U.S. Senate moved towards a resolution Sunday that could end the shutdown, it remained uncertain Monday if the deal will be approved by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. That process could take several days and there will be additional delays in resuming some operations such as providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
As such, local organizations are still engaging in ongoing assistance efforts and announcing new ones.
"All premature declarations of the end of the shutdown aside, we'll be gathering for food and fellowship on Monday," wrote Daniel Rothman, an organizer of a twice-weekly lunch gathering for federal employees, in a Facebook post for the event on Monday.
Also scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday was a food giveaway at the Pucker Wilson's food truck across the street from the Mendenhal Mall after $3,000 was raised in an online campaign. The organizer, McKenzie Dornbirer, stated the intent is "to build grocery bags containing food staples for families in need to be picked up on a weekly basis through December 2025."
Common to such efforts, in addition to providing assistance, is seeking an ongoing communal spirit among those in need and those able to provide help.
Dancing turkeys helped provide a slightly different tenor than previous years to the Juneau Central Labor Council’s food drive in the Mendenhall Mall parking lot, offering a touch of lightheartedness amongst the increased sense of donation urgency due to government shutdown-induced food insecurities.
“It's so much fun to bring people in and give them this heartwarming and wonderful message,” Jennifer Skinner, St. Vincent de Paul Juneau’s executive director, said while dancing to classic pop hits while waving signs in a turkey outfit along with co-worker Heather Williams.
As the afternoon went on, stacks of nonperishables piled up in a van and trailer at the SuperBear IGA parking lot.
“Juneau has always been a very reactive community, lots of people willing to step up to the plate and do things,” said volunteer Erica Fike.
Colleen Campbell was originally planning to drop off her donation on Monday, but saw the setup and donated early. She brought typical Thanksgiving fare like stuffing.
“People just need it for the holidays,” Campbell said. “It’s a sad time.”
According to Skinner, over 200 families have already signed up for the St. Vincent’s Thanksgiving Basket program, likely due to SNAP payments being withheld.
“We're gearing up for an increase,” she said. “We already have over 200 families signed up for our Thanksgiving basket, and that's record numbers for this time of year. Usually we hit the 200 mark about the week before Thanksgiving, and we're already there. So we're anticipating a large margin.”
The Hunger Jam that started a few hours later at the downtown church saw a steady flow of people coming and going throughout the evening to hear the various musicians, browse a collection of silent auction items and share in the communal buffet downstairs. The event was also streamed online and had about 500 YouTube viewers as of Monday.
"During this time where everything is locked down I want you to not think about politics," said Lance Mitchell, a local artist who co-hosted the event with fellow musician Jane Hale. "You’re not a Democrat. You’re not a Republican. What you’re doing is feeding people who are hungry."
Among the performers were students with the Juneau String Ensembles and Rick Trostel’s Montessori Borealis Students, the Bibb & Paulicks Horn Trio, and the Misuri Smyth & Community Chorus. There were also discussions with people involved in assistance efforts as well as "challenge" moments, such as Lawfer offering the blue group High Costa Living $100 (which turned into $250 with matching donations from others) to perform "Sweet Home Chicago," which wasn’t on the group’s planned set list.
But along with the levity were reminders of the serious situations many of the people the event is seeking to help are facing.
"This is about your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers," Heidi Adams, an official with JAMHI Health & Wellness Inc., told the audience between sets. "Everyone could be facing food insecurity at any time. Food insecurity is crucial for mental health, for spiritual health and for our community to grow as a whole. As a grassroots effort we are all able to make a huge difference tonight. And I sure hope everyone can find a way. And if you cannot donate, donate your time — there are so many astounding agencies working tirelessly to provide services."
New/upcoming food assistance events in Juneau (list may be updated; organizers of events not listed can contact us to provide details):
• A forum focusing on Juneau’s community food access and support resources hosted by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library.
• Resurrection Lutheran Church is expanding its free communal meals to three times a week to include Thursdays as well as Tuesdays and Saturdays. The weekly food pantry that includes meals is noon-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays, and the meals Thursdays and Saturdays are from noon-1:30 p.m. The Thursday meal on Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) will be from 6-8:30 p.m. since The Salvation Army will be hosting its traditional free meal at midday.
• Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church is expanding its food pantry to include Wednesdays from noon-1 p.m. as well as Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. The church also delivers on Saturdays to those who are homebound in the Mendenhall Valley, which can be scheduled by calling (907) 500-3588 before noon on Fridays.
• The Glory Hall’s annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for the shelter and soup kitchen is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Saturday at Centennial Hall.
• The Salvation Army’s annual traditional Thanksgiving meal is scheduled from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Juneau Yacht Club.
• Signups for Thanksgiving baskets from St. Vincent de Paul Juneau are being accepted, and food collections are scheduled to continue through Nov 20 at participating churches as well as the organization’s center on Teal Street.
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com. Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
