Thursday, October 1, 2026
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GASTONIA, N.C. – Gaston County is rallying the community to support the more than 36,000 residents – nearly 15 percent of the population -- who may begin the month of November without federal food assistance.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered a pause on all November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits until further notice due to the federal government shutdown. Gaston County is working closely with the state to monitor changes in the program and will provide links to the latest information from the homepage of GastonGov.com.
In partnership with the Gaston Cares team from the One Gaston 2040 Initiative, the county is asking the community to come together to support individuals and families whose access to food may be severely limited in the short term. The County is encouraging local churches and civic organizations to partner and “adopt” a food pantry in their community. Most of the local food pantries are already experiencing increases in the number of people seeking food assistance, and those requests will likely dramatically increase if the federal government shutdown continues past Friday.
Gaston Cares maintains a list of local food pantries and charitable food providers at: www.onegaston2040.com/cares-foodaccessresources. The County will provide links to that resource from the main page of GastonGov.com.
The County will establish several collection sites for non-perishable food items at the following locations beginning Thursday, October 30, during normal business hours:
SNAP program participants can still use their EBT card and remaining benefits at retailers and grocers that accept SNAP/EBT. The ebtEDGE app is available for checking EBT balances.
Participants should continue to follow their normal application process, and Gaston County DSS will continue to process new SNAP applications, recertifications and change reports.
WIC, Meals on Wheels Remain Operational
Gaston County’s Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which is administered through Gaston County Public Health, remains open for business. Nearly 5,200 residents currently participate in the program, which continues to accept new applications.
To support those who rely on WIC, Gaston Cares has organized two upcoming drives on Friday, Oct. 31 and Friday, Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Gastonia Farmers Market, 410 E. Long Ave., Gastonia, to collect the following items:
Donated items must be unopened and cannot be beyond their use-by date. Donations will be distributed to local food pantries to be provided to the community.
Gaston County’s Meals on Wheels program has resources available to continue serving existing clients at least through the end of November. That program serves 315 clients currently in Gaston County.
