HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — There are two major food banks and over 800 food pantries in West Virginia, and on Saturday, most all were busy helping provide West Virginians with meals who aren't going to see their SNAP dollars as soon.

Working alongside the food banks were over 200 soldiers and airmen from the West Virginia National Guard. Facing Hunger Food Bank CEO Cynthia Kirkhart said the help was very much needed.

"Regardless of how the SNAP benefit thing rings out, we still have a shutdown," Kirkhart said. "Food is needed at the holidays, and it's needed by everybody who is suffering through this. So we're glad to be in this strong partnership with the state and certainly with the Guard today."

Facing Hunger serves 12 counties in West Virginia, and with the government shutdown lasting over a month, paired with the frozen SNAP benefits, Kirkhart said the food is being sent to the areas that need it the most.

"We have really focused on the southern coal fields, which typically have the highest food insecurity rates," she said. "Clearly, we have a lot of local pantries. I think we're seeing a lot of the government shutdown effects here locally."

Nearly 300,000 West Virginians rely on SNAP to put food on the table – that's around one in six people across the state. Kirkhart said while the circumstances around SNAP continue to be in question, the goal remains the same.

"We obviously have a framework of a plan, but as the need changes, we have pushed food actually to the outposts for the guards, so they too will be able to be responsive," Kirkhart said. "So we'll just see how it goes. But what I know is like today and every day, together we're facing hunger."

The West Virginia National Guard mobilized troops to help local food banks and pantries. West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General James Seward said the Guard is also providing around 11 pop up pantries in areas where there are no food pantries open this weekend.

"There are soldiers and airmen here at Facing Hunger as well as Mountaineer Food Bank at the warehouse and at pantries across the state," Seward said. "They're partnering with the food banks and partnering with the pantries to make sure that no West Virginian is without food this week or for as long as this shortage goes on."

Seward said for many of the men and women of the Guard, the mission at hand of helping West Virginians have dinner on the table is meaningful.

"Many of those soldiers and airmen are in counties they're familiar with and maybe working with a fire department that they know," Seward said. "There's really no greater service that they can provide to folks in their state than helping them with this basic need."