Many food pantries in the Philadelphia region said they're serving more people now than at the height of the pandemic amid the government shutdown.

Food pantries across Kingsport are preparing for the potential halt in SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown. V.O. Dobbins Jr. said the food pantry at Central Baptist Church is expecting an increase in demand.

Nearly 82,000 residents in Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield and Huntingdon counties will not receive food assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly called SNAP — beginning Saturday.

With federal food assistance expected to run out of money at the end of the week due to the government shutdown, area food pantries are bracing for an increase in demand.

It’s really an unknown,” said one local food pantry director. “I’ve been here 19 years and I’ve never really seen anything quite like this.”