Name: Mom’s Facebook post sparks food aid network for struggling families
Uploaded: 2025-10-27T00:15:22.954Z
Duration: 2 min 7 s
Description: A simple post by Rachel Hartberg in a local moms group turned into a grassroots movement, connecting families at risk of losing SNAP benefits with neighbors ready to help.

A simple post by Rachel Hartberg in a local moms group turned into a grassroots movement, connecting families at risk of losing SNAP benefits with neighbors ready to help.

Waukesha County

A mother in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, initiated a food aid effort after posting in a local moms' Facebook group about potential disruptions to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Her post quickly garnered support from other mothers, resulting in a network of donations to assist families at risk of food insecurity.

Within two days, around 30 to 40 people offered donations, and 15 families requested help. The initiative comes as local aid organization Impact 211 reports a significant increase in daily food requests following a federal government shutdown, highlighting the growing need for community support during uncertain times.

Mom’s Facebook post sparks food aid network for struggling families

A couple days ago, Rachel made a Facebook post in a mom's group asking if anyone was in need of food with the potential of snap benefits ending in a few hours, moms around Waukesha County answered, saying they wanted to help too and give donations. Let's do some fruit. Um, beans, Rachel Hartberg is starting to collect donations from people around Waukesha who wanted to join in her effort less than 48 hours ago. She made a post in a private Facebook group, mainly for moms, saying if your family is on snap and you're worried about food this coming month, please reach out. My husband and I are happy to help. I thought maybe a few families will reach out. But when she woke up after putting up that post, she wasn't surprised by the few messages asking for help. She was surprised by the other moms woke up and I went, Oh, people actually want to help. Megan is one of Rachel's friends and one of the first to donate snap or supplemental nutrition assistance program, sometimes called food stamps, is 100% federally funded. And if the federal government is shut down, benefits likely will not go out to families. We were literally tearing up about it, just thinking about kids being hungry. What could we do to help? It almost seemed like an impossible feat. Here we're having these conversations. Rachel does something about it. Rachel is now spending the day driving around Waukesha County, picking up what other people are offering. How many people reached out to offer to donate? Probably 30 to 40 people. On top of that, she says she's up to 15 families who have asked for help. Impact 211, which serves southeastern Wisconsin, says just for October, since the government has been shut down, they're seeing an average of 81 requests for food per day, the highest number in two years. Rachel says that's why her and the other moms are donating. I feel like women stick together, bringing people together to make sure that people don't go hungry. If you do need food resources, Impact 211 says they can connect you with sources within your community to get help. In Waukesha, Rebecca Kloff.

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