The Jacksonville City Council is expected to consider emergency legislation this week that would devote local dollars help fill food banks, Council President Kevin Carrico tells Jacksonville Today.
The Duval County public school students whose access to food is threatened by the halt of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could fill VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The nearly six weeks that Congress has failed to fund the federal government — the longest shutdown in American history — has left SNAP without a stable funding source. Nearly 160,000 people in Duval County are among the more than 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP to eat.
Feeding Northeast Florida CEO Susan King says there was more anxiety among those in local food distribution lines last week. Feeding Northeast Florida is a network of food banks that help feed people in a dozen local counties.
Fay Moreland, right, is among scores of volunteers helping distribute food on Nov. 5, 2025, at Calvary Baptist Church in Jacksonville. Moreland is joined by Feeding Northeast Florida volunteer coordinator Callie DeSane. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
“It is fear and it is lack of information,” King says. “People just don’t know. ‘I don’t know when I’m going to get my benefits. I don’t know if I’m going to get my benefits.’”
The Trump Administration has been in court, attempting to continue to halt SNAP payments until the government shutdown ends. On Friday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. ordered the administration to fully fund SNAP by the end of the week. The administration appealed, and the Supreme Court then said states must disburse partial payments.
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent a memo to states dictating they must not transmit full SNAP benefits, even after some states had already made November payments.
“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the USDA memo states. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”
King says Feeding Northeast Florida saw increased need for food amid the federal shutdown, before the SNAP benefits ran out on Nov.1.
“People are afraid,” King says. “That fear and uncertainty causes them to try to access additional food to be prepared. …That’s what’s happening in the world of food insecurity.”
“Even people who weren’t going to miss a paycheck and don’t have SNAP benefits feel the same kind of anxiety and fear. That’s what is causing this significant increase in the demand,” she says.
Jacksonville officials respond
City Council President Carrico says he plans to file legislation to provide $200,000 to Feeding Northeast Florida, which would support the nonprofit’s operations for two weeks.
“If we need to do something else in two weeks, and the number needs to be more, we can look at it again. Right now, I want to mitigate what we can, try to be responsible with taxpayer dollars and work with our community partners that really know how to get this problem solved,” Carrico said.
Jacksonville City Council members Ju’Coby Pittman, Rahman Johnson and Reggie Gaffney Jr. (l-r) propose devoting $2 million in emergency funding to help with local food assistance. Their districts have a combined 17,604 households that receive SNAP benefits. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
A separate group that included council members Rahman Johnson, Ju’Coby Pittman and Reggie Gaffney Jr. suggested at a meeting on Friday that the council should find $2 million in the budget to provide food assistance.
“This community is not going to let anyone fall to the side,” said Johnson, whose district includes has nearly 4,8000 households that receive SNAP benefits. “A coalition that is assembled is a good thing. It’s important for us to fund the coalition so the work can be done.”
The legislation would require 13 votes from the 19-member council. As of Sunday evening, no bill had been filed.
Community steps up
Hunger in Jacksonville disproportionately affects children and seniors: 80% of local SNAP recipients have either a child or senior in the household, according to Mayor Donna Deegan’s office.
“Not in this country, not in this community should children go hungry,” Deegan said last week while announcing the Duval Care Coalition.
Duval County Public Schools says 23% of its students receive SNAP benefits. The nearly 23,000 local children is enough to fill both the VyStar Veterans Memorial and University of North Florida arenas – where the district holds its graduation ceremonies.
Kids Hope Alliance interim CEO Ken Darity says nonprofits are stepping up to provide for children. For one, Communities in Schools worked with Feeding Northeast Florida this month to provide 2,000 snack packs.
The business community is also helping where the federal government is not. Jacksonville law firm Pajcic & Pajcic donated $120,000 for SNAP recipients to use on fresh local food at the Riverside Arts Market.
Nonprofits are helping businesses affected by the loss of SNAP, too. On Sunday, Northside Pride announced it would devote $5,000 to businesses like Star Meat House and Nature Fresh Market, which are affected because many of their customers use SNAP.
And individuals are lending their neighbors a helping hand too, with everything from front-lawn food giveaways to donations that feed scores of people.
The local efforts come as King says Feeding Northeast Florida has been hamstrung by federal policy decisions for most of the calendar year.
Feeding Northeast Florida leaders say access to fresh produce and proteins has become more expensive over the last 12 months. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
The federal Department of Government Efficiency cut funds to the Commodity Credit Corporation in March. That decision forced Feeding Northeast Florida to cancel $850,000 in pre-ordered food. Then, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled a $1.3 million for Feeding Northeast Florida under a program that would have allowed food banks to purchase fresh produce and proteins from disenfranchised or minority-owned farmers in the summer.
“Over these last 10 months, we’ve had a significant reduction in our food supply because of the federal cuts,” King said last week. “The food that is coming in that we are packing, we purchased ourselves. This is not any assistance from the city. This is not any assistance from the state at this point.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Nov. 3 in Jacksonville that he would not declare a state of emergency to fund SNAP, as Democrats including state Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, had been calling for.
DeSantis said the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is working with food banks during the shutdown. The department has not respond to Jacksonville Today‘s interview requests to elaborate on what that collaboration means as of this story’s publication.
Dining and Cooking