It can be hard to recall amid the chaos and uncertainty of the last year, but there was a time last fall when nearly half a million Washington state households didn’t know how they were going to put food on the table.

Solid Ground driver Charles Kendrick picks up pallets of bulk food to be delivered to food banks across Seattle (photos by Rachael Green).

The federal government had just shut down in October after lawmakers failed to reach a budget deal, and it wasn’t clear whether SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, would be issuing the monthly payments that millions of Americans rely on to buy groceries that keep their families fed.

Seattle’s food banks, which are meant to be the last line of defense to make sure our neighbors don’t go hungry, were quickly overwhelmed with long lines as more families found they could no longer put food on the table.

But that’s when the people of Seattle said no.

This an except of a blog post on the Seattle Food Committee website. Check out the full post: When SNAP Faltered, Our Community Stood Firm For Our Neighbors.