Federal funding cuts come as food banks nationwide have seen a surge in demand.
MetroCreativeFederal funding cuts come as food banks nationwide have seen a surge in demand.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ending two programs that provided more than $1 billion for food banks and schools to purchase food from local farmers and producers.
The Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which provided funding for states to buy food from local farmers to give to food banks, and the Local Food for Schools program were axed earlier this month in the latest round of cuts in what the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency say are efforts to slash federal spending and reduce government waste.
Additionally, the USDA has cut half of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) funding – $500 million.
Charla Irwin-Buncher, Chief External Affairs Officer with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, which serves 11 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, said the LFPA funding cut will result in the food bank losing $1.6 million annually to purchase roughly 2.9 million pounds of food – including eggs, milk and meat products – from Pennsylvania farms and manufacturers.
Last year, the GPCFB distributed 44.4 million pounds of food, and government dollars accounted for 11.3 million pounds – approximately 26% – of it.
“But this is certainly hitting our agricultural community just as much,” said Irwin-Buncher. “Local farmers have depended on LFPA, and the program really has helped our farmers expand into new markets.”
The loss in funding comes as food banks nationwide have seen a surge in demand.
“This will be one of the largest years the food bank has on record, even more than our pandemic years when people were out of work,” said Irwin-Buncher. “We’re hearing from people that the cost of everything is so much higher, and often people are working two and three jobs to figure out how to make ends meet and reliably put food on the table every day. We’re trying to help them stretch their budgets so they don’t have to decide between buying groceries or paying a utility, or cut a prescription in half to make it last longer.”
The Fayette County Community Action Agency Food Bank operates 56 food pantries throughout the county.
Jessica Hajek-Bates said the food bank, which last month served 2,100 households, “is feeling the impact” of the USDA’s cuts.
“But we’ll move forward and deal with the hand we’ve been dealt,” said Hajek-Bates. “We will leverage all of the resources we have at the federal, state and local levels to continue to help the community that we serve.”
Last year, the food bank distributed 2.6 million pounds of food through its food pantries, and she said the food bank will look to fill the boxes it distributes with more canned foods and shelf-stable items if the fresh food is no longer available.
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced his administration is appealing the termination of the LFPA program.
The program was set to provide $13 million over the next three years to support the purchase of more fresh, locally grown food for food banks, he said in a news release.
According to Shapiro, the commonwealth’s LFPA program supported 189 Pennsylvania farms and 14 food banks. For some farmers, those funds make up about 10 to 15% of their budget.
As for the Local Food for Schools cut, Pennsylvania was set to receive about $23 million for the program in 2025.
The national nonprofit FoodCorps said in a statement, “FoodCorps is deeply disappointed by the USDA’s decision to halt over $1 billion in funding that supported schools and food banks in sourcing food from local farms, including canceling $660 million for the Local Food For Schools and Child Care Program. We hope that the USDA will recognize the value of fresh, locally sourced produce as a cornerstone of children’s nutrition and will make a renewed commitment to supporting both local farmers and our kids’ health.”
GPCFB’s Irwin-Buncher said the food bank has strong partnerships with the community and its businesses and organizations, and will continue to seek ways to meet the needs of food insecure people in the region.
“That’s the blessing of this work – community members all coming together to make sure that our neighbors have enough to eat,” she said.
Irwin-Buncher said now is an important time to support food banks through financial donations or by volunteering.
She also encouraged people to reach out to elected officials at the local, state and federal levels to voice support for food banks and the agricultural community.
“Food insecurity is a key issue, and we need to come up with solutions to address food insecurity in the United States,” she said. “Food insecurity should be a top issue for everyone.”
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