Food banks, pantries facing triple threat of food insecurity, increased demand and federal cuts

Harvesters, a regional food bank, is facing a triple threat: food insecurity, increased demand and federal cuts, all trickling down to its partner agencies and pantries.

“We’ve seen a cut of some of the best, high-quality, healthy food available for our families,” Chief Resource Officer at Harvesters Elizabeth Keever said. “We’re absolutely seeing less inventory.”

On top of a decrease in donations, Keever says Harvesters has already seen cuts to two of its federally funded programs.

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“We saw a 30% reduction in our TEFAP program, and that resulted in cancellations of orders that we were anticipating having on our warehouse shelves already,” Keever said. “So that was a lot of items like milk, items, significant pantry staples and household staples for families.”

TEFAP stands for The Emergency Food Assistance Program and is a United States Department of Agriculture program. Keever says Harvesters also saw the elimination of the LFPA, or the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, another USDA program.

“The LFPA program was a program that allowed us to purchase agricultural products that’s grown in the region and distribute them directly to folks in need,” Keever said.

Additionally, Harvesters and other organizations are looking at billions in possible cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“The cuts to SNAP are the biggest things that we’re worried about right now,” Keever said. “One of the things that people don’t realize is that SNAP is one of the biggest ways that the United States fights hunger.”

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Keever says things are different than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was federal funding available specifically to combat increased demand and rising costs.

“Food insecurity actually went down because there were so many programs that were there for families to rely on,” Keever said. “And now with the elimination of programs, we have food insecurity higher than it’s been in a decade.”

Harvesters says it's disheartened over the latest Feeding America Map the Meal Gap report, which shows that food insecurity numbers are the highest in a decade. That means more people don’t have access to quality food to meet their basic needs.

Harvesters says it’s seen the rate in its service area increase by about 36,000 people in the last year.

“Obviously, food insecurity is on the rise, but food insecurity disproportionately impacts children,” Keever said.

The overall number of children experiencing food insecurity in Harvesters’ service area is up by about 10,000 people.

“There’s a lot of challenges right now for folks facing food insecurity,” Keever said. “Everything from the rising cost of food, which is still up over 20% since 2019, to challenges when it comes to the rising cost of housing.”

These impacts trickle down to organizations like Coldwater, a faith-based nonprofit that’s been around since 2008.

“We have not felt it yet, but we will,” said Monte Stull, community director at Coldwater.

Stull says the nonprofit’s pantry and clothing closet are busier than ever.

“If we had 100 people come through, we were like, ‘Wow, that’s a big week,’" Stull said. “Now, it’s averaging 130, up to 150.”

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While he braces for the impact of federal cuts, he says donations and community partnerships help significantly. Preparation has been key, especially as Coldwater’s demand increases.

“I think a lot of it is the cost of everything,” Stull said. “I mean, we’ve all felt it. The cost of food, the cost of food, the cost of services. Even if you go out to eat dinner anymore, it’s expensive.”

He says Coldwater’s goal is also to combat food insecurity, something his clients — or friends, as he calls them — experience with a sense of urgency.

“They panic,” Stull said. “And it becomes one of those things where, ‘We need it now.’”

Both Stull and Keever say their respective organizations are eager to answer the community’s call for help. However, it’s a call anyone can answer.

“We are needing the community to step up and help us out,” Keever said.

To learn more about donating to Harvesters, click here.

For more information about Coldwater and donating, click here.

This story was originally published by Rachel Henderson with the Scripps News Group.