11/03/2025
Smithville First Baptist Church is reaching out to help folks who are struggling during the federal government shutdown. Benefits for the SNAP program, which provides a monthly allowance for food, will end October 31. Pastor Chad Ramsey says the church wants to step in to help and will offer free meals to feed hungry families.
The church will have soup nights for families November 3-7 at the church Activities Building. Doors will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. every evening except Wednesday to serve soup to families. On Wednesday the community dinner will be open from 5:00 until 6:00 p.m. in the church’s Family Enrichment Center, located next to the church at 201 West Church Street in Smithville with regular Wednesday night activities following the meal.
Ramsey says the church will continue to evaluate the federal government’s economic situation to see if further assistance is warranted. When the government shutdown ends or the food stamps resume, soup nights will end.
According to research from the latest U.S. Census Bureau data map, 20.4% of the households in DeKalb County live in poverty. 14.7% of DeKalb County homes are SNAP households. The medium household income for our county is $48, 484.
