Creak. Thump. Boxes of food load into the trunk. Two children scan the incoming boxes—cans, fruits, meat, and dry goods come in—but there’s only one food item catches their attention: cereal. In this moment, the vibrant red and blue Cap’n Crunch box was all that mattered to these kids.

“Mama, we got cereal,” the little girl said. “We got cereal this time!”

Moments of excitement and joy such as this are what Chief Executive Officer Kim Da Silva gets to experience every day working at Louisville’s Community Food Share.

“It was just a joy you don’t even think about,” Da Silva said. “Cereal—like we just go to the store and grab it. But for these kids, if they didn’t get it through our mobile pantry, they wouldn’t have had it.”

The Community Food Share and its partners provide food to over 60,000 people in Boulder and Broomfield counties. With assistance from their 42 partner agencies, the food share brings in enough food to mass distribute it out to the community.

“Thanksgiving through the end of the year is really when things get busy,” Trevor Bosseti, the senior marketing manager said. “Kids are home for the holidays, which means less school meals, less additional resources there.”

The crowds at the bank were always populated, but never as dense as during and after the federal government shutdown that began last fall.

“There was a hunger and food insecurity issue prior to the government shutting down,” Da Silva said. “The recovery from the longest shutdown in history is going to take some time.”

On Oct. 1, the U.S. Senate initiated the longest government shutdown in history, due to the inability to agree on a budget because of policy disagreements about program integrity. As a result, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was cut, sending millions in the country into widespread food insecurity.

Previously known as food stamps, SNAP is a federal program that provides monthly food assistance to low income households across the country. Due to the recent cuts, families are forced to budget down to the cent, especially in households that depend strongly on the program.

On Nov. 1, SNAP was supposed to be allocated for November, but with the delays and funding hold ups, that didn’t happened.

“A lot of families started to come out here to make sure they had food going into November for their families,” Bossetti said.

While the government shutdown ended Nov. 12, Bosetti feared people would never catch up on the SNAP benefits they count on.

“It’s not going to be 100% of the benefits, and it’s still not even a sure thing that the government will be able to do that,” he said.

Around Boulder County, various groups have been helping young families to overcome food insecurities and help them from drowning in financial burdens. Youth advocate Heather Grimes helps young people leaving foster care who struggle financially.

“So the kids are often, and I say kids, but they’re like, 18, 19, 20 year olds, they’re budgeting down to the cent,” Grimes said. “They are getting exactly the amount of money for rent and the exact amount of money for this, and they are expecting a certain check from the government for food and a certain check for housing help, but it’s not the whole sum of rent, so they expect that help. They can budget accordingly,” Grimes said.

She said SNAP is essential to keep everyone fed, and maintain a stable living conditions, without it, many families have to give up basic necessities to life.

Food.

Water.

Shelter.

Clothing.

“I don’t even think SNAP is a luxury,” Grimes said. “I think SNAP is a bare minimum.”

As Grimes works with the foster youth in our community, Monarch High School has been working with Sister Carmen Community Center, a food bank in Lafayette who partners with the Community Food Share, to help provide food for the community.

Over the course of two weeks in November, the school’s Equity Council held a food drive to support people in need. Assistant Principal Cara Maronek, a member of the council was one of the people behind the drive.

“We got close to 1,000 pounds of food, and so that was huge,” Maronek said. “We were able to do that and supply that much to our community that is struggling.”

With many forms of support coming through, the need for food is bringing together people throughout the community

“You cannot tell if somebody is in need of food. You never know if they’re food insecure or not because we all are the same,” Da Silva said.

“When people talk about hungry people versus non-hungry, I always say there is no ‘them.’ There’s just us.”