PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The federal government shutdown is stirring up anxiety for Valley nonprofits.

St. Vincent de Paul food bank

The lack of funding is having a significant impact on St. Vincent de Paul food bank.

“We may start seeing people seeking more support for food and for rent,” said Andrea Ariza, a spokesperson for the nonprofit.

She said they helped families during the previous shutdown, which lasted 35 days, with food, rent and utility bills using grant money.

“To put it into perspective, we served 57 households in 2019, almost at the very end of the government shutdown. That was really stretching people a lot,” said Ariza. “It was also just concerning that people had to come to St. Vincent de Paul for support. And we were there to support them in any way that we could.”

This year, she said they no longer have that funding.

However, Ariza explained they plan to tap into a homelessness prevention initiative made up of private money donations called Housing 2025.

“We have enough to help prevent homelessness for 15,000 people, but of course, we’re not counting the people that might come to our doors to come seek support,” said Ariza.

She said the calls for help from families impacted by the shutdown haven’t started yet, but she expects their phones to start ringing if the government doesn’t open up again soon.

“We’re ready to support whoever needs us because they’re not alone,” said Ariza.

Harvest Compassion Center

The Harvest Compassion Center is a food and clothing bank with locations in Phoenix and Maryvale. Nicolee Thompson, the executive director, says it’s seeing an increase in federal workers come in. It’s a group of people the nonprofit also helped during the last federal shutdown.

“We did have some people come in that normally don’t visit food banks at all,” she said. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, the HCC has been serving more and more people. In September Thompson says it served more than 2,000 families which is the highest September number in 16 years.

A concern at the food banks is that millions of Americans could lose access to food stamps in November if the government shutdown continues.

Another concern at the food banks is millions of Americans could lose access to food stamps in November if the government shutdown continues. About 42 million people rely on SNAP benefits and the USDA says SNAP has about 6 billion dollars in a contingency fund, however November SNAP benefits are expected to total around $8 billion. The Arizona Department of Economic Security has not made any public announcements about next month.

St. Mary’s food bank

St. Mary’s Food Bank also helps about 10,000 families a month at three Arizona locations. Spokesperson Jerry Brown says they do worry about what could happen if those SNAP benefits run out.

“Any increase, whether its the government shutdown, or the cut in SNAP benefits that’s on it’s way, that’s going to put more strain on our ability to feed people,” Brown said.

He says about 20% of the food the group provides is from the federal government.

“Some of the food we are getting from the government is kind of locked up,” he said. “Because of the government shutdown there is no one to call.”

Brown does want to make it clear, it can still serve every family that lines up for help.

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