DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — With over 9,000 local residents facing delays or reductions in SNAP benefits, businesses like Fatzo’s Subs and Pizza and Door County Custom Meats are stepping in to provide meals and groceries to those in need.
Last Friday, Fatzo’s Subs and Pizza in Sturgeon Bay posted on social media about the SNAP benefit freeze starting on November 1.
Watch below as we talk to some local businesses about how they're helping keep neighbors around the community fed:
“We are giving each family member that is currently receiving SNAP benefits a 14-inch cheese or one-topping pizza," Marci Shortreed. the owner of Fatzo's Subs and Pizza, said.
Shortreed says the post went up on Friday, and the response has been overwhelming.
“There’s probably been about 20 people so far that have donated, and I’ve been contacted by many other people who have come in and wanted to donate," Shortreed said.
She says since the program started on Saturday, they’ve distributed eleven pizzas to SNAP recipients.
“Food is something that should bring us together, not divide us," Shortreed said.
With their post, they inspired another local business to step in.
“We started talking about how a good friend of mine from Fatzo’s, [Marci's husband] Brad Shortreed, did a little thing to help the SNAP program, and we just thought it was really cool," Keith Birnschein, co-owner of Door County Custom Meats, said.
Keith and his wife Jackie, also a co-owner of Door County Custom Meats, are donating two pounds of ground venison per family each week until SNAP benefits are restored.
“I think we’ve almost all said we’ve been there before. I mean, we’re struggling. Keith and I struggled more or less when we first started our family, and now we’re business owners, so we’d like to just pay it forward," Jackie said.
Both businesses say families just need to show their SNAP benefit card to receive a pizza or some ground venison. For now, there’s no end date for the programs, and both businesses say they’ll continue helping neighbors as long as the need exists.
