BATON ROUGE — Thousands of people showed up to the East Baton Rouge Parish Council on Aging's drive-thru food giveaway event on Monday, hosted as the government shutdown continues and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits remain suspended. 

Council on Aging's event attracted a large crowd, with cars from the drive-thru spilling into the road.

"The police said we backed up both sides of the interstate and all streets coming into the neighborhood," Council on Aging's CEO Tasha Clark-Amar said.

The large crowds led to the event starting hours earlier than originally planned.

"We’re responding to the SNAP benefit suspension by ensuring our seniors have access to essential food resources," officials said.

The boxes of food included fresh vegetables, meat and canned goods that could last them through the month. Each box of food was valued between $10 and $15.

"We haven't had a drive of this size since prior to COVID," Clark-Amar said.

The Council on Aging's event was held at the group's Lotus Headquarters at 965 North 18th Street, starting at 10 a.m.