MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — With thousands of Tennesseans affected by the SNAP benefit pause, more neighbors are stepping up to help those in need.

One Rutherford County couple is focusing on feeding families in a unique way.

Kaylin and Dakota Lawrence are co-owners of Mind the Gap Therapy. They focus on closing gaps in physical and mental health in the community. They provide individual and group therapy services and contract with nonprofits to provide low-cost therapists to their clients.

Kaylin and Dakota realized some of their clients were personally affected by the disruption of SNAP benefits. Being in touch with people in the community, they found out firsthand that it was affecting their neighbors. Kaylin reached out to a Facebook group, and plenty wanted to get involved.

The couple agreed to set aside some money to support a family and donate a Kroger gift card to them. Eventually, they expanded it to a larger scale and helped more families.

Since most of their clients are coming for therapy services like anxiety and trauma, they know that when people are hungry, it’s hard to talk about deeper issues.

While food banks are working hard trying to fill the need, Kaylin said they can’t fully replace a month’s worth of groceries or the dignity of choosing your own food.

“There’s a sense of dignity in being able to meet your family's own nutritional and cultural needs by going to the grocery store and checking out just like everybody else, especially when you have relied on these benefits as part of your family budget and now they’re not here,” Kaylin said.

They want to relieve some of the financial stress so families can still make their own choices and have the autonomy to feed their families the way they need to.

“We have a daughter, so when we’re formulating this idea, we talked about how scary it would be to not know if we could feed her and feed her the foods that she’s used to and accustomed to or that work for her diet,” Dakota said.

Since the Rutherford County community is so close knit, they couldn’t stand by while people are hungry or just insecure about where they would be getting their next meal.

Anyone who’s been affected by the loss of SNAP benefits can reach out. Your name will be placed on the waitlist, and as soon as a gift card comes in, it will be distributed to the next person in line.

“We’ve all been in a situation where finances have been tight, but there’s no reason to go without food because you might experience shame or guilt for asking,” Kaylin said. “You deserve those benefits just like everybody else does.”

If you’re able to donate money towards a gift card or would like to sign up for assistance, you can email [email protected].

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/murfreesboro-couple-starts-grocery-gift-card-drive-amid-snap-benefit-cuts/