When SNAP Was Delayed, West Michigan Stepped In: A Community Response That Shows What’s Possible
When the federal shutdown led to a delay in SNAP benefits beginning November 1, thousands of households across Allegan, Kent, and Ottawa counties suddenly faced the same urgent question:
How will we afford groceries this week?
SNAP is one of the strongest tools families use to stay stable. When it faltered, the impact reached every corner of our region — food pantries strained, lines grew longer, and calls to 2-1-1 surged as neighbors searched for help.
What happened next is what makes West Michigan extraordinary.
United Way acted quickly, and our community acted with us.
This is the story of how we showed up together — and how we’re continuing to build stability long after the shutdown ended.
Our role is to unite community resources to invest in solutions that reduce poverty — and moments like this are where that mission becomes real.
We activated the United Response Fund to:
Invest directly in local food access programs facing immediate strain.
Build support pathways so families didn’t fall deeper into crisis.
Mobilize donors, partners, and volunteers to strengthen the entire safety-net system.
Within days, more than $65,000 was raised.
One hundred percent of those dollars are being deployed to frontline partners serving families today.
Our Community Investment team moved quickly — reviewing applications, assessing need, and awarding grants to 22 programs across Allegan, Kent, and Ottawa counties.
These partners include Christian Neighbors, Community Action, Community Action House, Harvest Stand Ministries, UCOM, North Kent Connect, The Other Way, Community Food Club, New City Neighbors, SECOM, YMCA Veggie Van, Streams of Hope, Hand2Hand, Safe Haven, and others working every day to keep food within reach.
This is what it looks like when a community refuses to let neighbors face hardship alone.
This effort moved with speed because partners stepped in with heart and urgency.
We are especially grateful to: Gun Lake Casino, Amway, Acrisure, Independent Bank, WZZM13, Union Bank, the Frey Foundation, and the many generous neighbors whose support fueled the response.
Their leadership and quick action made it possible for food programs to meet demand at the exact moment families needed them most.
Even though the shutdown ended and benefits resumed, the impact didn’t disappear on November 12.
The delay strained families who were already living close to the edge. Pantries are still seeing higher-than-normal demand. Many households are recovering from the financial whiplash of suddenly losing a critical support.
Food security is one of the clearest indicators of stability. When it falters, everything else does — rent, health, school, work.
This response wasn’t just about filling a temporary gap. It was about protecting families from falling into deeper crisis and supporting the long-term resilience of our region.
This is the core of our Impact Agenda: strengthening financial futures, improving health and wellbeing, expanding youth opportunity, and responding to urgent needs today so we can build a better tomorrow.
What Comes Next
The United Response Fund will remain active as families continue to recover and as we monitor additional needs across the region. Additional contributions will go directly to our food access partners as they sustain their work.
This moment reinforced something essential about West Michigan: we face challenges together, and we respond with speed, compassion, and shared purpose.
United Way will continue investing, building, and mobilizing in the months ahead — making sure that every neighbor has the stability they need to move from crisis to opportunity.
Because when systems falter, community doesn’t. And when West Michigan steps up, no family faces hardship alone.