Minnie's Food Pantry has turned a food distribution into a platform of empowerment in Plano. However, the location Chery Jackson named after her mother Minnie Hawthorne-Ewing may see a first in 2025.

"We've never in the 18 years of Minnie's Food Pantry being here, in the 31 million meals we've served, had to turn away a person,"  Jackson said. "Am I concerned about it today? Absolutely."

Jackson said Minnie's Food Pantry has been able to withstand the challenges over the years. 

The food assistance non-profit, however, hasn't faced multiple significant challenges at once like regular recipients who need services and government employees waiting for the shutdown to be resolved, one hundred of whom signed up this month. Now, as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding is expiring, the pantry anticipates an increase in demand.

"And so if the people who support us can't support us, then we even become concerned," she said.

Jackson invited a group of SNAP recipients to her facility to listen to their stories. She documented their accounts in an attempt to break down stereotypes.

"It is the woman that I sat in front of today and says, I received $24 in food stamps. What am I going to do? And to me and to you, that may not be a lot," Jackson said.

The woman told her she had a son who's disabled, and every penny counts. She's already borrowing money from family and friends to make ends meet. Now, the loss of SNAP until the government funds it again. Or the disabled mother of five whose blood pressure is 180 over 120. For all those stories, there may not be enough to share with their families.

"And every day that we open up these doors, there's another empty crate, and I have never been so terrified of one day I'm going to walk in and all the crates will be empty," Jackson said. "And what will we do?"

Rebecca Akers said the programs at Minnie's have helped her tremendously. The former executive assistant is recovering from a car accident. Her attempt to get SNAP failed before Nov. 1.

"I don't know what I'm going to do after November because I don't want to spend my bill money on food or gas or other things that I can't afford at the moment. So it's a struggle," Akers said.

The 54-year-old said she left her corporate job to become an entrepreneur, but setbacks continue to come. Employment is essential, even though she is still recovering from the accident, because by the end of December, she could be facing a financial crisis.

"I've been trying to do different marketing studies just to make money on the side," she said.

The food pantry provides food and allows her to shop at no cost with a voucher in its store for toiletries, clothing and even household items.

"Without Minnie's, you know, my life would be a little bit different in this situation," Akers said. "I'd probably be depressed and at home by myself trying to figure out how I'm going to pay my bills, how I'm going to eat, how I'm going to, you know, find another job."

According to Jackson, 2,800 people have signed up for their Thanksgiving giveaway. That number and food needs will likely rise, she said. The warehouse room where canned goods are put in crates is mostly barren. Jackson said she's even rethinking how much food they give out. Thursday, she said, not one box of breakfast cereal was in the building to give to children.

"It's not okay. And it's going to get worse. It's going to get worse," Jackson said.

The top nonperishable items needed are cereal, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and snacks. Minnie's also has a more extensive donation list, an Amazon wish list, as well as other ways to give.