Corps member Brett Phelps followed an Indianapolis family for a week to document their day-to-day life without food stamps during the lapse in SNAP benefits. His photos and the accompanying story portrayed a loving, close family sacrificing to make ends meet.

Notably, the mother said she had to put a pause on her daughter’s beloved gymnastics classes to afford groceries. After this story was published, a reader reached out to pay for the daughter’s gymnastics lessons for the rest of the year.

Brett Phelps is a Report For America corps member covering community issues for the Mirror Indy in Indianapolis, Indiana.