LAKE WORTH BEACH — The line outside the food pantry at Our Savior Lutheran Church filled with new faces as the fifth week of a federal government shutdown pushed people who rely on federal food assistance to find new ways to feed themselves.
Boynton Beach retiree John Newton had never stood in line at a food pantry before, but there he was at CROS Ministries’ pantry on a cloudless on Oct. 30, wondering how long this would go on.
His military pension is barely enough to cover his housing and utility costs, he said. To feed himself he has relied for a decade on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — commonly known as food stamps…