October 30, 2025 3:30 a.m. 

The head of the United Community Action Network has issued a call for residents to support Douglas County’s emergency food network.

UCAN CEO Jordan Jungwirth said with food prices soaring recently, the organization has seen the demand for emergency meals doubling from recent years.

Jungwirth said earlier this year, the federal government reduced some of the food bank’s funding, decreasing the amount of food it can purchase. Now, with it likely that local residents will not receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in November, Jungwirth said many local children, seniors and people with disabilities will be left without adequate food to meet their needs.

A UCAN release said the suspension of the food stamp benefit is going to put enormous pressure on its network to meet local needs. Jungwirth said, “Hunger isn’t going to wait for a policy decision to be made. In Douglas County, one in five children are living in poverty and far two many families are already doing everything right, but still struggling to get by”. Jungwirth said, “Having access to emergency food means people won’t have to choose between buying groceries, paying rent, or keeping the lights on. This is a call to action for us all”.

Jungwirth said with about 18 percent of local households about to lose food stamps, there are a number of actions local residents can take to stop hunger locally:

*Donate to UCAN financially by going to www.ucancap.org

*Support local food drives or

*Host a food drive or fund drive

Those in need of food assistance can go to: www.ucancap.org/food-pantries