Montco businesses step up to help people impacted by shutdown

AMBLER — As the federal government shutdown threatens food assistance benefits for thousands of people in Montgomery County, a number of local businesses are offering help.

Communities in and around Ambler have observed increased donations to the Mattie Dixon Community Cupboard. Other establishments, including the Spring House Tavern and Weavers Way Co-op, have launched initiatives of their own to help those who may be impacted by the potential cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which were expected to run dry on Saturday.

Around 85,000 people reportedly experience food insecurity in Montgomery County, according to 2023 figures from Feeding America. Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians are “at risk of losing SNAP benefits,” according to figures from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office, including around 63,000 people in Montgomery County.

“They’re all stepping up, offering people free meals, no questions asked,” Weavers Way Co-op General Manager Jon Roesser said.

The Spring House Tavern, located at 1032 N. Bethlehem Pike, in Spring House, Lower Gwynedd Township, will offer free meals for SNAP recipients from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays starting next week.

Owner Karleigh Burns learned of looming cuts to SNAP benefits in the news and she saw a way the Spring House eatery could help those going through a hard time.

“We do food well, we do service well, and I just thought, well, we can definitely help,” Burns told MediaNews Group.

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Those interested should bring their EBT, SNAP or WIC card and show it to their server. Guests will then select a beverage, soup or salad and choice of entrée from a special menu at no cost. While reservations aren’t a requirement, Burns recommended patrons make one in advance.

“It’s one thing to provide food, and that is necessary and important, but I think some of the most important things that we’re hoping that people can get out of this is the sense of community that we have at the restaurant, and family and being able to get out,” Burns said.

“It’s not just about eating the food, it’s also about being able to be in the environment and enjoy their time there, and to me, that was the most important thing,” she continued. “It’s not just providing the food, it’s providing the service, too.”

Burns said she initially hoped the initiative would help some families in need, but she had no idea how much attention the idea would garner. Hundreds of people reacted to posts on the restaurant’s social media accounts. A “Help Spring House Tavern Feed the Community” GoFundMe page was also established to cover food purchases and tips for servers that generated $12,835 from nearly 200 contributors as of Friday afternoon.

“It’s amazing. People are really generous,” Burns said.

That generosity is a sentiment shared by Roesser at the grocery store located about 2 miles away.

The food retailer, with two others locations in Mt. Airy and Philadelphia, launched a cooperative food fund Thursday for members who may be impacted by any potential SNAP cuts. The fund will allot “weekly grocery credits” for members “unable to access SNAP, WIC, or TANF benefits during the government shutdown,” according to the fundraising campaign’s website. Roesser said it raised $50,000 in roughly 24 hours.

“I’m certainly not surprised that the co-op’s membership showed their … generosity. I was taken aback by how quickly we were able to raise such a large amount of money. So that was very heartening,” Roesser told MediaNews Group.

Weavers Way Co-op officials put together the idea nearly 1 week ago as Roesser emphasized the need to “have a contingency plan here in the event that this thing actually happens.” Around 5 percent of the co-op members rely on food assistance, according to Roesser, which translates to about 800 households. Roesser added he’s heard from customers and co-op members, who’ve been wary of food insecurity-related concerns as Saturday’s deadline loomed. He said they’ve connected people with local food pantries, but the food retail store sought to do more.

“There’s a lot of concern out there, and I certainly had a lot of concern, and I feel fortunate that we’ve got this cooperative ownership model that we can kind of lean into,” Roesser said.

Funds can be accessed through a member’s EasyPay account, Roesser said. Anyone interested can participate by becoming a member “on the spot.” They’ll then receive a member number to access the funding. Roesser described the initiative as a “rough and ready response to a crisis,” stressing the importance of using the contributions amassed to help those in need.

“… It’s November. We’re a few weeks away from Thanksgiving,” he said. “The idea that people are going to go hungry this time of year … the thought of that should put chills up all of our spines, and so the ideal solution is the federal government gets back together and reopens, and people get their SNAP benefits. That’s what we really want to happen.”

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Montgomery County officials also designated $500,000 in emergency food assistance Friday, which is slated to be directed to local food pantries, who can help area residents as the community continues to rally around one another.

“I am heartened by how I see us all stepping up. It’s not just Weaver’s Way and Weaver’s Way members,” he continued. “I really see this in [the] community across the board,” Roesser said. “I see people stepping up. So that definitely gives me hope.”