After Nov. 1, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, has run out of funding due to the federal government shutdown. Toasted Bagels & Coffee, a local Seattle business founded by Murat Akyuz and Jaafar Altameemi, has stepped up to provide the community with food amidst this government crisis.
Toasted’s locations in South Lake Union and University District are now offering free food, bagels and drinks to local people who rely on monthly aid. Akyuz, one of the cofounders, explained, “If they just say, ‘Hey, can I put this order on my neighbor’s tab?’ No questions asked, we will provide the meal for free.”
The founders of Toasted are no strangers to SNAP. Akyuz revealed that their “family relied on SNAP benefits. Our cofounder- Jaafar- his family also relied on SNAP benefits when he was young.”
Toasted promised that the first 100 meals were their responsibility completely. However, after that, they rely on donations. The social media campaign has been widely successful. “It was like $1,000 an hour,” Akyuz told KOMO News. Overall, the program has raised more than $45,000, and according to estimates, it showed that it should be sufficient to serve approximately 9,000 people.
On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds to continue paying for the SNAP program. However, the administration claimed that contingency funds should be used for emergencies and disasters, like hurricanes, so they cannot legally use this money.
Altameemi, Toasted’s other co-founder, said that “Five dollars pays for breakfast for someone. And we’ve got a couple of other big donors who are talking about matching it.” He went on further to say, “Literally, we were in tears yesterday at some of the messages that we were getting. Reading the donations we were getting. People calling in and just being like, ‘Hey, how can I help?’ People literally showing up here and being like, ‘Can we volunteer?’”
Toasted’s community activism opens the door to future possibilities to support fellow Americans amidst this turbulent government shutdown.
