National 211 hotline calls for food assistance quadrupled in a matter of days, a magnitude typically seen during disasters

By: Matthew W. Kreuter, Washington University in St. Louis and Rachel Garg, Washington University in St. Louis, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 7, 2025

Words: 1,410

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 3 days ago

By Matthew W. Kreuter, Washington University in St. Louis and Rachel Garg, Washington University in St. Louis

Between January and mid-October 2025, calls to local 211 helplines from people seeking food pantries in their community held steady at nearly 1,000 calls per day.

But as the government shutdown entered its fourth week in late October, states began to warn residents that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, sometimes known as food stamps, would …

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