Food banks in Oregon face challenges as USDA pauses $500 million in deliveries nationwide

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Food banks across the country are scrambling to learn how federal budget cuts affect their food donations. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently paused $500 million in food deliveries across the country.

Officials with the Oregon Food Bank tell KATU they “conservatively estimate a loss of $7 million total” in lost funding.

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An Oregon Food Bank spokesperson says their partners at Feeding America told them to expect millions of dollars in cuts this year. They say this includes funding for about 90 truckloads of food deliveries.

Right now, the food bank gets weekly deliveries of meat, milk, canned and fresh vegetables, and fruit. It distributes those supplies to 21 regional food banks in Oregon, which then go to 1,400 distribution sites.

“What this is going to mean is less food,” said Breen Goodwin with the Columbia Gorge Food Bank. “That’s going to make it harder for families to make ends meet in other ways as well. So, our need in our community has, uh, since, excuse me, before January been at some of the highest levels that we’ve seen. And while we’re still serving as a regional food bank and moving large volumes of food, this freeze is going to mean less food is going into the community.”

Other food banks like Esther’s Pantry tell KATU News this will also hit them hard.

“In the many years of Esther’s Pantry’s existence, we have weathered numerous storms. While the current news of funding and program cuts has exacerbated fear over food security, we remain deeply committed to keeping our services open and available to the over 10,000 we feed annually,” a spokesperson for Esther’s Pantry told KATU News in a statement.