Food banks across the region saw a surge in demand during the government shutdown.
While federal paychecks, food assistance and other benefits are on track to resume, many people have already made tough choices to get by since Oct. 1.
“They may have taken on debt vehicles, they may have let bills lapse — all in order to feed themselves and try to survive,” Feeding Tampa Bay CEO Thomas Mantz said. “It will take quite a while for those folks to rebalance their household.”…