Food Distribution in Roane County Draws Large Crowds as SNAP Benefits Remain Frozen

ROANE COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — Cars wrapped around Roane County High School on Sunday as families lined up to receive boxes of food amid the ongoing suspension of SNAP benefits.

“I mean, people need that, they need help,” said Stacey Anderson, who arrived hours before the 11 a.m. start time to make sure her family got food. Supplies had run out in less than an hour on Saturday, leaving many empty-handed.

“We’ve been here since 7:00 this morning waiting for the food,” Anderson said. “We are really thankful that the National Guard is helping the ones that need it.”

With SNAP benefits still frozen due to the government shutdown, many residents are struggling to feed their families. Roane County Emergency Management Director Melissa Gilbert said leftover food from Sunday’s event will be taken to Roane County Helping Hands for those unable to attend.

“Today we did emergency food distribution, and the state of West Virginia and the National Guard provided pallets of food for our community,” Gilbert explained. “We were able to hand out several pallets today and will contribute the remaining food to the Helping Hand.”

Across West Virginia, National Guard troops, volunteers, and emergency personnel have joined forces to support residents affected by the lapse in benefits.

“We have several people from the community who stepped up to help us today, and we greatly appreciate everyone coming,” Gilbert said. “Some EMS staff came, and even locals we didn’t expect showed up to lend a hand.”

With no timeline yet for when SNAP funding will resume, Gilbert said officials will continue to update residents about upcoming food distributions.

“We’ll post on social media and look for other ways to spread the word,” she said. “That way, even those without social media can find out when our next food distribution will be.”

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