Food banks face federal cuts as demand rises

Food bank managers across the country say their supplies have been strained by rising demand since the pandemic-era emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits ended two years ago and steepening food prices (Source: “Federal Cuts Gut Food Banks as They Face Record Demand,” Kaiser Health News, May 1).
 
Now, they say, demand is compounded by recent cuts in federal funding to food distribution programs that supply staple food items to pantries nationwide.
 
In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut $500 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which buys food from domestic producers and sends it to pantries nationwide. The program has supplied more than 20% of the distributions by Feeding America, a nonprofit that serves a network of over 200 food banks and 60,000 meal programs.
 
The collision between rising demand and falling support is especially problematic for rural communities, where the federal program might cover 50% or more of food supplied to those in need, said Vince Hall, chief government relations officer of Feeding America.

Deepening the challenge for local food aid organizations is an additional $500 million the Trump administration slashed from the USDA Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which helped state, tribal, and territorial governments buy fresh food from nearby producers.