Woman starts ‘Grocery Buddy’ for neighbors frozen out of SNAP benefits, helping them pay bills

With the US government shutdown, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits are frozen, and many people are struggling to afford basic groceries and care, raising concerns about how they will feed their families in the weeks ahead. As they struggle to put food on the table, a quiet group has emerged in November 2025, in the form of Grocery Buddies, whose cause ensures no one goes hungry.

According to Inside Edition, several pantries in New York have gotten busier than ever. However, amid the chaos, many people are finding solutions to help each other out. Lindsey Boston, a full-time law student who has been a volunteer at Grocery Buddy, shared the moment she joined the movement, "I came across a post on Facebook, something along the lines of 'If you need help paying your groceries, comment below.' And it sort of took off from there, where other people began posting on their accounts, and it became a community effort, which I wanted to be a part of." Joana Ward, a mother of five from Chicago, was inspired to start a movement after being instilled with the idea of helping by her grandparents. "I saw the posts and thought, I could do that. I have had people reach out from Georgia, Florida, and it’s not tied to one place. People just want to help." Ward has been helping with groceries for people residing near her. "I just plan on helping as much as I can," she added.

The idea of Grocery Buddy is simple: It pairs someone who can afford to offer a helping hand with someone who needs assistance. "It could be a Venmo payment or a grocery gift card or even personal shopping to deliver at their doorstep," said Meag Sargent from Milwaukee, who has been part of this noble cause. Meanwhile, Sargent has built a small network of volunteers using Google Forms and spreadsheets to match donors and recipients by location and budget. "We are sort of building the plane as we fly it. And this started with a social media post with many responses," she said. She added, "We have set up two Google Forms: one form for people looking for assistance, and the other for people who want to become a grocery buddy to either donate money or go grocery shopping for people."

While in Colorado, Jenny Hoffman has been receiving requests from federal workers and local families. "We just created a tier program. So it’s like, 'I'll offer $50 grocery shopping or $100 or $150 or continuous shopping,' so that has definitely helped keep things a little bit organized about what people can afford in their budget." According to the Grocery Buddies, the requests they received have been "humble." "It’s nothing outrageous or unnecessary; in my opinion, it has only been basic supplies," Ward shared. Jenny weighed in and added, "It’s not like people are abusing this generosity."

The volunteers have been stunned to see the people who are stepping forward to become volunteers. Meag Sargent revealed, "There's always been a need for and desire to participate in mutual aid. I have done a lot of mutual aid food distribution before, but since COVID, people really want to connect but are unsure how to do it."

Grocery Buddy strives to help others, and they hope the movement continues to grow. This chain reaction of getting inspired to help has been analyzed in a 2019 study authored by Hilmar Brohmer, et al. The study suggests that observing other people’s goal-directed behavior (like helping) activates the same goal in the observer. In other words, when one post was shared, lending a helping hand, it prompted several responses from others who decided to join for the greater cause.

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