25% of Worcester Residents Face an Empty Thanksgiving Table: Local Food Programs are Here for ALL

“President Trump is choosing not to issue November SNAP benefits that help you and many families put food on the table,” reads the DTA announcement released on Mass.gov on October 24, 2025. This means 53,727 SNAP beneficiaries in the city of Worcester are at risk of immediate food insecurity due to the government shut down and upcoming changes to SNAP unfolding on November 1 due to Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” That is: 25.4%of the city’s population, just ONE month before Thanksgiving.

Mari Gonzalez, Executive Director of El Buen Samaritano (EBS), is calling this a “major and serious public crisis” for our city that has all food assistance agencies working very hard to prepare to feed all residents in need. They are calling for all hands on deck. This is an immediate crisis that also has the ingredients to impact Thanksgiving, the holiday so treasured by New England families and a time when food donation typically increases.

This is wild. We already see 500 families at our food pantry every Friday. I expect three times [that] this week.

Maria Gonzalez, Executive director
El Buen Samaritano food program, Inc

What’s Up Worcester saw and shared Ms Gonzalez Instagram post from yesterday’s rally at the State House in Boston calling for support, and we urge you to do the same. We spoke with Ms. Gonzalez by phone early this morning to ask how WUW can help spread the message that, though our city is in crisis, there are resources to address food insecurity. She said the EBS food pantry is available for ALL residents, specifically reminding WUW that federal workers have now been furloughed for 29 days! She spoke with urgency and concern for Worcester’s residents.

EBS weekly food distribution is on Fridays from 11am-2pm at 39 Piedmont St. (at the corner of Davis St.) Anyone in need of immediate food or disaster relief can email or call 774-253-1619 to make an emergency appointment.

“Friday [November 1] is going to be wild,” she said. “I expect three times the amount of families this week.” EBS is busy preparing to feed upwards of 3000 indivduals and engaging in activism to mobilize community resources. They are urgently calling for donations and volunteers. She said, “We don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day, and we are all working to provide food for everybody. ” It is evident that Ms Gonzalez and EBS are extremely concerned about the impact the SNAP funding crisis and government shutdown may have on families as the holiday season approaches.

EBS is not alone in mobilizing to feed a surge of people in need. Worcester County Foodbank Instagram page reports their concerns that “local capacity won’t hold” as heating costs increase, benefit insecurity looms and existing food need is constant. However, they are operating as usual and the WCF website’s “Find Food” page provides a tool to search by agency and location for food resources and meal programs in the city and county-wide. Worcester County residents can locate one of the city’s many food pantries. One such pantry is Veteran’s Inc. Food Pantry at 69 Grove Street.

What’s Up Worcester spoke with Lakota Perrone, who answered the phone at Veteran’s Inc on the first ring. He stated that their food pantry will next open on November 6 and serves veterans and their families every other Thursday of the month from 9AM-1PM. They are also busy preparing for the impact of the food crisis at the same as they ramp up for their largest event Holiday Harvest. Mr. Perrone said they are working with partners to secure 1000 turkeys and currently accepting donations during business hours in preparation to provide Thanksgiving meal supplies to 750-1000 veterans and families. He described the Holiday Harvest event on November 25 as essentially a “grocery store where veterans can get all the supplies for their holiday meals.” It would be a shame if those who have served our country were unable to have a full table on Thanksgiving.

What’s Up Worcester urges those community members who can make donations to the above or any other local food bank, please do so as soon as possible. To those in need, we are committed to continuing to provide links and resources as this food crisis unfolds. We welcome reader suggestions and feedback to this and any story.

DTA cannot issue SNAP until the Trump administration acts to fund SNAP or ends the federal government shutdown. If the shutdown continues past October 31, the Trump administration may not pay for November SNAP benefits on the regular schedule.
 

NOTE: Existing SNAP beneficiaries should continue ot do regular business with the DTA such as submitting paperwokr on time. New applicants or those who must recertify as of November 1 should be advised of stricter guideliones for SNAP eligibility. more people will be required to meet work requirements Including parents with teens 14+, homeless individuals, veterans, and people up to 65.

Betsey Taft Kennedy, Managing Editor, What’s Up Worcester, betsey@whatsupworcester.com

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