Food pantry feeling stress

In the rapidly-changing landscape of federal agencies and spending, some may have missed the news this week about significant cuts to two United States Department of Agriculture programs connected to getting food to those who need it most.

First, $1 billion in cuts were made to the Local Food Purchase Agreement (LFPA) and Local Food to Schools (LFS) programs. LFPA was established to give food banks financial resources to procure local fruits, vegetables, meats, and other agriculture products for distribution for food insecure families and individuals. LFS was similarly designed to get local agriculture products into school cafeterias.

Then, later this week, the USDA announced $500 million in cuts that had been designated for shipments of produce, poultry, and commodity goods that were part of the Emergency Food Assistance Program put in place by the Biden administration.

Representatives from Feeding America noted that the impact from these cuts will be felt largely in rural areas where resources for food assistance are limited and food banks are seeing all time highs in demand. In our region, MANNA Food Bank in Asheville, which serves the Highlands Food Pantry, will see a loss of nearly $2 million in funding.

These cuts will trickle down to our food pantry program, leaving us to find new sources for food - most likely forcing us to look at wholesale and retail sources for food. As you might guess, this will lead to increased costs to keep pace with the growing needs at the pantry. To address any shortfall, we are identifying grants and other funding sources to help bridge the gap. Likewise, we are encouraging you, our donors and supporters, to give whenever you are able. We are confident we can weather the storm, but we cannot do it alone.