GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As dozens of cars lined the parking lot on Wednesday night, a full hour before a food distribution event was scheduled to start, volunteers sprang into action on Oswego Street NW. Every month, the Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church and St. John’s United Church of Christ team up for the event.
Many of the volunteers are regulars, and working together, they look like a well-oiled machine. But this time around, that machine was up against a growing need. It was their first event since the government shutdown created an uncertain future for those receiving SNAP benefits. Usually the event serves about 130 families, but on Wednesday they were planning for 150 or more.
Jeffrey Dick is one of the worship leaders at St. John’s and he volunteers regularly at this very event. He says he has relatives receiving SNAP benefits and he’s seen firsthand how that uncertainty has affected them…