DALLAS — In a room full of busy hands, small gestures matter most.

“We’re just doing 500,” said Ella Wilson. “It still takes a village.”

That’s the theme for the 51st Harambee Festival in South Dallas. Wilson is Harambee’s Watoto Village Committee Chairman, and says Harambee means “let’s pull together.”

“We started Harambee out of a crisis affecting children and youth, and we're still here back in a crisis that affects children and youth,” said Wilson.

Friday’s crisis is the government shutdown and the millions who may lose SNAP benefits on October 27.

“I am the legal guardian of 6 of my grandchildren. So, it definitely impacts me,” said Wilson.

She doesn’t receive SNAP benefits, but she gets help from her community. “Although they have been loving and supporting me and mine, whe

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