While the federal government struggled to reach an agreement for weeks on end until the shutdown’s ultimate end on Nov. 12, a Gwinnett County teenager stepped up to help families in need.
November started with a bleak realization for over 1.4-million Georgians: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would only be partially funded for the month.
Jaeleon Hawkins-Jones is a 16-year-old high school junior in Gwinnett County and a member of Gwinnett Young Democrats, and he says his family being in a similar situation is what drove him.
“It’s really simple. My family relied on SNAP benefits, and when I heard the news that it was going to be pausing, it devastated me,” Hawkins-Jones said. “It broke my heart because the main people who are supposed to be protecting our families and making sure that we’re able to survive … couldn’t come to an agreement to figure out how they’re going to keep their citizens fed.”
Hawkins-Jones said the original goal was $1,000 to feed 40 families in the county. When he kept seeing donations come in, he did not waver.
“It was honestly overwhelming,” Hawkins-Jones said. “People obviously believed that hunger didn’t stop at $1,000 and it inspired me to continue.”
That GoFundMe now sits at over $3,500 with 80 donations.
The latest update on Nov. 13 said that although federal benefits were resuming, their work was not over. SNAP Pause Support is helping families during the transition, and Hawkins-Jones said he would keep showing up to make sure everyone’s support was utilized.
“The world isn’t as polarizing as some media may try to portray it,” Hawkins-Jones said. “We actually care about each other, and we’re willing to step up when leadership fails.”
Hawkins-Jones worked with non-profit Co-Op Ministry to help purchase, package, and distribute food boxes when the pause was in effect.
“We’re still going to be providing food boxes to families,” Hawkins-Jones said. “65 food boxes was only the start. We’re going to be using the rest of the money that we had to give out the next batches of food to families at the Southeast Gwinnett Co-Op Ministry.”
Hawkins-Jones said that they rented a truck with the donation money, and went to the ministry’s building. There, a table was set up with a line of cars ready to receive the boxes of food.
“It was just very heartwarming to see them not leave a place empty-handed,” Hawkins-Jones said. “I really just want to show other teenagers that if you see a problem, you can fix it. You can fix it because you are just as able as any adult, and don’t ever think that just because of your age you are not able to contribute to something bigger than yourself.”
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