Hope Villages of America is turning away families at its Clearwater food bank because it cannot keep enough food on the shelves.

The nonprofit's warehouse was wiped out after a 12-day pause in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during a federal government shutdown in November 2025, according to Spectrum Bay News 9. Nearly a year later, the food bank still has not recovered.

Volunteer Elizabeth Brown, who checks families in at their cars outside the food bank, said the people she sees are not sitting idle.

"Surprisingly, a lot of these people are working two and three jobs and still can't make it, which is really alarming," Brown said.

Lindsey Peek, director of community engagement for Hope Villages, said the organization served about 120 to 140 households a day before the SNAP disruption. When benefits stopped, that number doubled overnight.

"When the benefits paused, we had an overnight spike in our numbers, where we were serving over 200 to 300 households a day," Peek said.

SNAP benefits resumed, but demand never dropped back to pre-shutdown levels. Hope Villages still serves upward of 150 households daily. Peek said the food bank simply cannot keep up.

Inside the building, bins that normally hold food sit empty. Backup shelves are bare, too. An empty shelf means an empty table for a family, Peek said.

The strain cuts both ways. Donations have also fallen. Peek said people are not able to give the way they used to, and the organization has had to decrease hours, close early and reduce volunteer capacity. There is so little food coming in that Hope Villages cannot assign enough work for volunteers, according to Peek.

About 1 in 10 Pinellas County residents rely on SNAP to put food on the table, Peek said. During the November 2025 shutdown, the Pinellas Community Foundation committed $150,000 in emergency grants to local food banks and pantries, including Hope Villages, WTSP reported. The foundation said at the time that 97,000 Pinellas residents received SNAP benefits.

Hope Villages accepts food and monetary donations at 700 Druid Rd. E in Clearwater, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with extended hours on Tuesdays until 6:30 p.m.