FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — There is a growing concern at DMV food banks and pantries after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) slashed its budget.
7News reached out to the Maryland Food Bank, the Capital Area Food Bank, and leaders at Food for Others in Fairfax, Virginia, which distributes food to more than 3,000 families per week.
Earlier this month, the USDA announced it’s ending two pandemic-era programs that provide more than a billion dollars to farmers across the country who give fresh food to pantries, food banks, and schools.
The loss of the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, or LFPA, comes as a devastating blow to the Maryland Food Bank.
A spokesperson told us the funding cut will reduce access to fresh produce and seafood for families in need.
We asked Deb Haynes, Executive Director of Food for Others, how cuts at the USDA are impacting the organization.
“So, we are very concerned and we are looking very closely at what’s going to happen. In the last year, we served over 64,000 individuals and 20-percent of the food that we distributed to them was from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Emergency Food Access [Assistance] Program; there have been cuts to that,” Haynes said.
We also asked her how her organization will support families during the summer when students are out of school amid the cuts.
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“We are having conversations with Capital Area Food Bank about additional ways to glean food from grocery stores. It’s called food rescue. We’re talking about the number of stores that we rescue food from. We may have to reduce what we share from community partners in order to have more for direct-to-client services,” said Haynes.
Other options include changing how often clients can visit or how much food they can receive per visit.
If you’re in need of free groceries from Food for Others or would like to make a donation, click here.
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