While higher costs of food and gas have impacted wallets across the country, low-income Americans are especially feeling the effects. And the food pantries they rely on to fill the gap are struggling to keep up with increased demand going into the holidays and winter months.

Last month, a food pantry in Binghamton, New York, had to close one week because it didn’t have sufficient food for its clients. In Cincinnati, Ohio, some food pantries have seen double or triple the number of families showing up to almost empty pantries.

In the year since President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which implemented work requirements for certain SNAP recipients, was signed in July 2025, about 5.5 million Americans lost benefits — including 2 million children, according to an estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities .…