No sign identifies Greater Goods, a food pantry located in Northeast Philadelphia, but the spot is still hard to miss. When the storefront is open—six mornings a week— a line of people is almost always waiting outside.
On a Tuesday morning just before Thanksgiving, the line wrapped around the side of the building. Every sort of person was there: mothers with strollers, men in work uniforms, small children, young adults, and seniors with portable grocery carts. Some of those waiting lived in the neighborhood, but others had taken three buses to get there because there seemingly is no corner of Philadelphia that hunger doesn’t touch.
Natasha Rodriguez, a 28-year-old mother with dimples and large brown eyes, stood in the back of the line with her 7-month-old son. Like many of the patrons of Greater Goods, she had spent the first two weeks of November scraping by without her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which the Trump Administration paused during the 35-day government shutdown…