While food pantries and other emergency service providers moved quickly to help those in immediate need, many of the resources did not reach the working poor or Americans newly struggling due to lost jobs and business closures. As domestic spending for entitlement programs took a backseat to increased military spending, millions of Americans faced food insecurity in an atmosphere of increased xenophobia, racism, and stigma against recipients of social safety net programs.

On September 11, 2001, four coordinated attacks carried out by the terrorist organization al-Qaeda resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and many more injuries in New York City, Arlington, VA, and Pennsylvania. Private charities quickly raised hundreds of millions of dollars to aid survivors and the families of victims.