SEATTLE — Millions of Americans are just three days away from losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown.
On its website, USDA said the “well has run dry” and benefits will not be issued. This means people will not be able to shop for food with their EBT cards after Saturday.
Toasted co-owners Murat Akyuz and Jaafar Altameemi say they want to help people who are losing those benefits by providing a free meal. They are calling this the “Neighbor Fund”.
By way of community donations, they hope they can help those who can’t afford their meal to “put it on their neighbor’s tab.”
You can do this at any of their South Lake Union, Bellevue, or U-District locations.
Akyuz said they got the idea from Heretic Coffee in Portland, Oregon, where a similar initiative has already raised tens of thousands of dollars.
They tell us this starts on November 1 and goes as long as the government is shut down.
As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, $15,000 had already been raised.
That’s at least 2,600 bagels waiting to be served — completely for free.
“Just say ‘can I put this on my neighbor’s tab’ and the barista will take care of it,” Altameemi said.
They tell us you don’t have to provide any proof of losing benefits, and no questions will be asked.
They say that just because the SNAP benefits get cut off doesn’t mean someone should go hungry.
“This could be the only meal someone has that day, and I’m glad it’s at Toasted. Hopefully, we can think of more ways to get a second and third meal for them, too,” they added.
They tell us now it’s about making sure the team is ready to serve that many meals.
“We stayed up all night thinking about how we are going to prepare for this, get the staffing and purchasing ingredients beforehand,” Akyuz said.
If you’d like to donate to the Neighborhood Fund, click here.
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