Food pantries see increased need

Dorien Lopez loads bags of groceries into a vehicle at Optimist Park during a monthly food drive held Thursday afternoon.

Photo by Brian S. Orban

With the federal government shutdown extending more than 30 days earlier this week, officials that oversee local food distribution programs in the Mountain Home area reported an increase in the public’s demand for these food supplies.

After the shutdown began Oct. 1 as lawmakers on Capitol Hill continued to not reach an agreement with regards to various budget items, among them included diverting billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers and using that money to provide healthcare services to people that illegally entered the United States.

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