NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An East Nashville mother is using social media to connect families losing SNAP benefits with neighbors who can help put food on the table during the ongoing government shutdown.
Brooke Tansley started a buddy system for folks who rely on SNAP with a simple Facebook post in her neighborhood group for East Nashville on Monday.
"This is the SNAP grocery buddy post, number one, if your SNAP is going to run out November first, and you need help with groceries, comment below," Tansley wrote in the post.
The concept works like a childhood buddy system from school field trips.
People who need help with groceries comment on the post, and those who can help reply to connect directly through messaging.
Tansley said the response was immediate and overwhelming.
"Within the next couple hours, 30 families were getting fed," Tansley said. "I was just crying because, like, it was just an idea I had in a second, and then I posted it one second later, wondering if anybody would do it."
Tansley, who works a temporary job while searching for permanent employment, said she wanted to find a way to help despite having limited time and money herself.
"A lot of people want to be helpful. I think sometimes it just takes a little, a little invitation," she said.
Her message resonates with a simple principle: "Nobody wants to see our neighbors and communities and people starving and families not having what they need," Tansley said.
Tansley is encouraging people in other communities to start their own SNAP grocery buddy systems online as the government shutdown continues to impact families across the country.
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