The St. Johns County Commission voted unanimously at its meeting Tuesday night to spend $200,000 to replenish food pantries at local nonprofits across the county as the federal government shutdown continues.

The ongoing shutdown is affecting people’s paychecks, and at least 10,000 St. Johns County citizens are experiencing a delay in their SNAP benefits.

County Administrator Joy Andrews submitted a proposal to the commissioners to allocate $200,000 toward local food pantries. The funds were left over from the county’s emergency response fund because the county was not touched by any hurricanes this year.

“We really don’t have the ability to completely replace these programs that (are funded) by the federal government, but we can, in small ways, collaborate with our nonprofits... to find

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