OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala. (WHNT) — The Federal Government shutdown is over, and SNAP benefits have been restored, but many Alabama families are struggling to put food on the table.
What started as a summer food drive headed by an Owens Cross Roads mother turned into something much larger.“We were feeding maybe 200 or 300 families over a whole summer previously,” Ciera Elledge said. “And now, we get 200 to 300 requests a day.”Elledge founded ‘The Peanut Butter and Jelly Squad’ in 2024 to feed kids during summer break. When EBT cards dried up and federal workers went weeks without a paycheck, the group started getting thousands of requests for assistance.“We’ve had over 1,600, almost 1,700 families request food,” Elledge said. “We’ve fulfilled over a thousand.”Elledge started recruiting help, reaching over 400 volunteers across five counties and making thousands of deliveries. So far this month, they’ve fed over 6,000 people.
Even with the shutdown over and SNAP benefits restored, Elledge said the Squad is staying busy…