(ST. LOUIS, NOVEMBER 4, 2025) The Regional Response Team today announced the launch of the Rapid Response Community Fund, a coordinated regional effort to address the increase in food insecurity due to the ongoing federal shutdown, delayed November 2025 SNAP benefits, and recent changes to eligibility.
The Rapid Response Community Fund was created to address the immediate and cascading effects of federal funding disruptions, which have left thousands of St. Louis-area residents unsure about how they will feed their families.
“Thousands of families, children, seniors, and the disabled in our bi-state region face hunger as the federal shutdown disrupts vital SNAP benefits. Our community’s food banks and shelters are already operating at capacity. Through the Rapid Response Community Fund, we can bridge this gap together, ensuring everyone maintains access to something as fundamental as food,” says the Regional Response Team Managing Director, Andrea Jackson-Jennings.
The fund’s decision-making body consists of community partners and cross-sector organizations invested in building a food-secure bi-state region. This collaborative structure ensures that funding decisions are guided by those with deep connections to the bi-state communities most impacted by the SNAP crisis.
Committee members include:
- Dr. Andrea Jackson-Jennings, Regional Response Team
- Marissa Hardwrict, Washington University in St. Louis
- Reverend Michelle Higgins, St. John’s Church
- Val Joyner, St. Louis Housing Authority
- Annissa McCaskill, Forward Through Ferguson
- Tamyka Perine, Gateway Early Childhood Alliance
- Riisa Rawlins, Community Health Commission
- Bethany Springer, St. Louis Community Foundation
- Final member to be announced shortly
Contributions to the Rapid Response Community Fund will provide flexible, fast-tracked financial support to community partners. These funds will help scale existing farming and food work, provide direct cash assistance to communities impacted by SNAP loss, deliver food to homes, and support organizations in becoming food distribution partners.
Nonprofits, businesses, and individual donations are encouraged to contribute. Funds are housed and processed by St. Louis Community Foundation, which fiscally sponsors the Regional Response Team. Donations can be made via the Regional Response Team’s website.
About the Regional Response Team
The Regional Response Team improves the health and well-being of underserved communities by mobilizing the non-profit, philanthropic, and public sectors to address life-threatening crises and systems’ dysfunctions collaboratively. The RRT stands ready to respond when our community is in crisis. We are a platform for creating collaborative, innovative solutions to our region’s most pressing problems. Learn more at regionalresponseteam.org.
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Media Contact: Marcel Hagens
Phone/Email: (314) 828-5608, mhagens@stlgives.org
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