Mom Turns Her Bread Business into a Community Pantry Following Cuts to SNAP Benefits (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• After learning SNAP benefits wouldn’t go out in November, Eileen Snyder paused her home bread business to bake loaves for families in need

• What began as a few loaves quickly turned into a full community pantry effort, with neighbors donating food and supplies

• Snyder’s act of kindness went viral on TikTok, inspiring others to step up and help families facing food insecurity

When Eileen Snyder, her husband and their three kids moved to their Colorado neighborhood almost two years ago, it didn’t take long for the place to feel like home.

Shortly after settling in, Snyder got her cottage license, started her bread business Hearth & Harvest and joined the local farmers market. Her kids came along every weekend, helping them connect with neighbors and build a sense of community.

“We got to know our neighbors, made friends all over town and felt welcomed in ways that have meant so much,” Snyder, 38, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “My daughter says it’s like our own real-life version of Gilmore Girls. It’s been a truly wonderful experience.”

Recently, Snyder noticed a few Facebook posts from local families worried about putting food on the table. The concern followed a recent announcement that, due to limited federal funding and court orders, SNAP benefits would be cut to 50 percent of eligible households’ current allotments for November 2025.

Then she learned that more than 600,000 people in Colorado rely on SNAP, and more than half are children. Nationally, over 42 million Americans depend on the program.

“It hit me hard,” Snyder says. “I realized I couldn’t just sit by knowing I could help.”

Right away, the mom paused her bread sales for the month and committed to donating loaves instead. But there was one hitch: food banks couldn’t accept her products because her license only permitted home sales. So she turned to her community, posting in a local Facebook group: if anyone needed bread, she would bake it for them.

Originally, she invited only SNAP recipients to reach out, but the offer quickly grew. Messages poured in from families in need, along with neighbors eager to help.

“Our neighbors have been incredible,” she says. “Some didn’t even know what we were doing at first and just wandered over to ask. Most came back later with contributions: canned goods, produce, anything they could share. It was amazing.”

Now, Snyder and her family organize 30 supply bags and boxes a week for each household, labeled with names and arranged in the center of the driveway. Each family gets roughly 5-7 bags in total, with the goal to provide them with enough food for one week. Around the edges, they’ve set up “stations” with extra produce, cereal, rotisserie chickens, frozen meat and eggs.

As families pull up, volunteers meet them to help load personalized bags and encourage them to take any extras they may need.

“I think the hardest part was organizing and baking so many loaves at once,” Snyder says. “On Halloween night, we had over 100 bags spread across the living room and kitchen. It took about four hours to sort and pack everything.”

Some suggested she could have simply bought bread and donated that.

“But that wasn’t the point,” she says. “I wanted everyone to feel the love and intention behind each bag or box.”

Although Snyder has taken the lead, she says her entire family is involved. “More than once, we picked the kids up from school and headed straight to the store to grab specific items on sale. Everyone pitches in,” she says.

“Running the pantry opened our eyes in ways we didn’t expect,” she adds. “We realized how many families are quietly struggling — far beyond those receiving SNAP benefits. And we also discovered how many community members were willing and wanting to help, they just didn’t know where to start.”

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Early on, Snyder began documenting the project on TikTok, initially just to capture how proud she was of her husband, kids and neighbors.

But the videos started going viral, reaching thousands of people around the world.

“Sometimes I get an idea and run wild with it, but this time, everyone ran wild with me,” she says. “I wanted to show how incredible it can be when people come together around one mission.”

Looking ahead, Snyder says she has no plans to stop anytime soon. Until SNAP benefits are restored, she will continue to keep her bakery on pause. Right now, she’s cramming five loaves at a time into her home oven just to keep up, but she hopes one day to invest in a real bread oven and scale the effort again.

“Helping others is more important right now,” she says. “Eventually, I’ll need to return to baking for profit, but I don’t want to stop this work. My goal is to make it a regular part of my life by supporting five to 10 families each week, even after things settle.”

“I hope people take away that it doesn’t take much to make a difference, just a willingness to start,” she says. “What began as a single loaf turned into something so much bigger thanks to the generosity of those around me. If this story inspires even one person or one community to help in any way possible, then sharing it has been more than worth it.”

Read the original article on People