Pastor Rich Wilson, left, and volunteer Robin Pikur, right, pray with client Amanda Nagle after giving her food as Allison Park Church conducted its mobile food distribution program in Butler on Thursday. Justin Guido/Butler Eagle

For six weeks, Amanda Nagle said she and her family did not know how they were going to put food on the table.

“May was really hard. We were struggling real bad,” Nagle said. “I had to ask around for help to get some food in the house.”

The family of four had $516 worth of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which can be used only to purchase qualified food, to stretch for 42 days.

Earlier this year, that dollar amount would have been higher, but SNAP’s emergency allotments, which were added during the COVID-19 pandemic to combat food insecurity and provide economic stimulus — ended after February 2023.

This change, coupled with rising inflation, has increasingly more Butler County families turning to food pantries for support.

Community Partnership, which manages the Butler County Food Bank, reported that its allotments increased drastically since March. In February, the food bank served 3,251 people. In March, that number nearly doubled to 6,108.