As a longtime staff member at Food For Free who lived through the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SNAP crisis that unfolded at the beginning of November felt hauntingly familiar. There was the same urgency, the same weight of responsibility, and the same knowing that when systems falter, communities feel the impact immediately.
This time, however, we also had the benefit of experience. As November 1 approached and delayed SNAP benefits became a reality, we worked to respond quickly but sustainably: meeting urgent needs without creating new programs that would outlast available resources.
And even though the SNAP disruption was tied to a “temporary” government shutdown, it illuminated what we already know: food insecurity is not a short-term problem. Even before benefits were delayed, demand across our 60 partner organizations was already rising. The shutdown didn’t create the need – it sharpened public awareness of just how deep it already was.
When a crisis hits, Food For Free is proud to be a trusted food access partner in our anchor communities of Cambridge and Somerville. And this collaboration made rapid response possible. The City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Community Foundation convened stakeholders and committed $500,000 to support an emergency food access response. Part of this funding went toward food purchases for the Cambridge Food Pantry Network, and Food For Free supported the distribution of the increased food.
In Somerville, the response was deeply grassroots. Through collaboration with parents and the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative (SFLC), the community raised funds which allowed Food For Free to operate an additional emergency School Market in November, serving 258 families with fresh produce and pantry staples in just one day.
A volunteer poses at the November 18th emergency school market at East Somerville Community School, which served 258 families
At the same time, our donors stepped up in extraordinary ways. In both November and December, Food For Free invested an additional $15,000 per month in food purchases to supplement deliveries to our 27 Just Eats partners, across 13 different communities. These funds also allowed us to increase food choice and quantity at our Cambridge and Somerville School Markets throughout November.
The ripple effects of the November SNAP crisis extend well beyond immediate relief, but so does the community commitment to helping our food insecure neighbors. Somerville has committed $1 million toward food access, allowing Food For Free to bring back the Carrot Card program, a grocery cash assistance program, with Somerville Public Schools from January through June 2026, and increase food for our School Markets. In Cambridge, the City and food access organizations continue to work together to close the emerging gaps where we can.
And even though SNAP benefits have been reinstated, the need continues to grow. New SNAP regulations have already pushed some people, particularly refugees and other immigrants, off the program entirely. With new federal work requirements beginning, even more families and individuals are at risk of losing critical food benefits in the months ahead.
What happened in early November was therefore just a glimpse into the ongoing food access crisis. We mobilized quickly to meet urgent needs, but just as importantly, that moment sparked broader awareness and long-term investment, and an investment our communities deeply need in the difficult years coming up. What felt like an acute emergency is, in reality, a chronic challenge that is only worsening. And it continues to reinforce why Food For Free exists every day: to build resilient, community-driven food access systems that show up not just in moments of disruption, but for the long haul.