COMMUNITY IN ACTION: On The Frontlines of the SNAP Suspension
The federal government may be reopened, but its impacts are expected to linger. For volunteers at a church food pantry in Rahway, the effects are clear.
Volunteer Doreen Gordon sorts bread and boxed cereal ahead of Wednesday’s food distribution at Zion Lutheran Church in Rahway. (The Central Jerseyan)
November 16, 2025
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The line outside Zion Lutheran Church in Rahway begins forming long before volunteers are ready. The small group of volunteers scrambles to set up in the church social hall. By mid-afternoon Wednesday, canned beverages and cartons of dry goods line folding tables alongside stacks of mesh bags filled with produce.
The church has become a busy mid-week stop in a neighborhood where families already struggling with rent, utilities, and medical bills suddenly cannot afford to pay for food. When federal food assistance was suspended during the government shutdown, it forced low-income people and families to rely more on a loose system of food pantries that volunteers said was already under strain.
Zion receives most of the food it gives away from a local non-profit, according to Pastor Carmine Pernini. The church pantry also has a running food collection donated by the local community.
“Over the past week, we’ve gotten more because of the threat to SNAP,” the pastor said.
SNAP, short for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal program that provides food aid funding to about 42 million Americans. Among them are roughly 800,000 New Jerseyans, nearly half children.
The aid funding was suspended at the beginning of the month due to the seven-week government shutdown. The government reopened this past week, but its impacts could linger for weeks.
“I hope that things get back normal like it used to be,” said Steve Westbrook, who works part-time at the church and the Rahway Community Action Organization. The larger non-profit provides much of the food the church volunteers hand out. “But what could we do? We’ll need to do with what we got, pray for the best.”
For longtime church members Doreen and Rene Gordon, the work is as emotional as it is exhausting, but they refuse to call it a burden.
“It’s rewarding and it’s sad at the same time,” said Ms. Gordon, “because sometimes we do have to turn some people away. So, we need more food, more help.”
Mr. Gordon, the church council president, bounced around the room helping to sort items and make sure everything was in order. He said the work brings him joy.
“The Lord teaches us to love our neighbor,” he said. “The kids come in, they get toys, they get clothes, they get food as well. The people get to know each other in the community by standing out there talking. They become friends.”
Items prepared for Wednesday food distribution at Zion Lutheran Church in Rahway, including pre-packed grocery bags, baby food, produce, and tables of clothing and shoes available to families. (The Central Jerseyan)
Volunteers at Zion Lutheran Church’s food pantry pause for a portrait inside the social hall. (The Central Jerseyan)
The pantry is a lifeline for regular visitors like Andrew Mazurek, who grew up in Rahway.
“I come back all the time for the free food,” he said. “It’s very helpful. My neighbor comes too.”
Pastor Pernini said the church does everything it can to make sure nobody leaves empty-handed.
“We’ve had weeks in the high fifties,” said Pastor Pernini. “People are showing up an hour early because if we run out, we just run out. And that’s the hardest thing, especially when it’s moms with kids.”
Once the church pantry opens, everything moves quickly. Visitors are brought into the room two-by-two and ushered past long tables lined with garbage bags filled with groceries, baby food, canned goods, and some produce. The volunteers serve mothers with young children, immigrants, and older and disabled residents.
Andrew Mazurek waits outside Zion Lutheran Church in Rahway ahead of Wednesday’s food distribution. (The Central Jerseyan)
There is some produce. A line of tables is stacked with large bags of red onions and potatoes, and a box of dusty carrots. There are no greens and no fresh meat, something Mr. Westbrook said the pantry received during better times.
“It’s not the same as it used to be,” he said.
Zion has stepped into gaps like this before. For nearly a decade, its social hall doubled as a winter shelter. Pastor Pernini said when flooding from Hurricane Ida displaced dozens of people across Rahway in 2021, several families stayed in this same room for nearly a year while searching for new housing.
Zion’s volunteers know that even with the government reopened, the pressure won’t lift overnight. Many residents will need time to recover from weeks of uncertainty and empty balances. Some will return next Wednesday. Some will bring their neighbors.
“You may not know your neighbor when you’re walking through the door, walking past them on the street, if they’re starving or need something to eat,” Mr. Gordon said.
By the end of Wednesday’s distribution, the tables in the social hall were bare.
The white garbage bags were gone. The volunteers pack up and begin thinking about next week. They hope that when families return, SNAP benefits will finally be flowing again, and the line outside won’t be quite as long.
For information on how to help the food pantry at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church through volunteering or donating goods, visit the church’s website. The church also has a page for financial donations.