RENO — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent announcement of more than $8 million in federal funding cuts is leaving food banks across the nation, including in Nevada, scrambling to address the shortfall.
Jocelyn Lantrip, Director of Marketing for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, said, “We are looking at a little over three million pounds of reduction in our next year’s funding stream in food resources.”
The Food Bank of Northern Nevada relies heavily on funding from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Emergency Food Assistance Program, both of which have been impacted by the cuts.
The immediate impacts are being felt throughout the ‘Home Feeds Nevada’ program, which allows the Nevada Department of Agriculture to source fresh food from in-state producers and growers. The food is then given to FBNN to distribute across the community. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada received about 1.1 million pounds of food from the program.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides non-profit distribution sites with commodities for redistribution to low-income families, according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture. A portion of the program was funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), but the USDA suspended roughly $500 million in funding for the program.
FBNN received an additional 2.1 million pounds of food from TEFAP.
Lantrip explained, “Currently we had about 350,000 pounds that was on order to be delivered from April through August. And that funding has been paused. And that was several loads of meat, dairy, and eggs. And so we are not receiving that food.”
The food bank serves approximately 160,000 Northern Nevadans each month, and Lantrip noted, “We’ve seen jumps in food insecurity over the last few years.” She added, “Right now we’re hearing more people are working. The costs are too high. Their budget is just not penciling. with higher housing costs, higher food costs, other just costs to live.”
Despite the federal funding cuts, Lantrip emphasized that 53% of their funding comes from the community, which plays a crucial role in combating hunger. “Food insecurity affects more people than they realize. It is a hidden problem in many places,” she said.
On Tuesday, Nevada Lawmakers held a work session for Senate Bill 233, a bill that aims to appropriate $800,000 to the Home Feeds Nevada Program.
The Food Bank of Northern Nevada is partnering with the National Association of Letter Carriers for a large food drive project, “Stamp out Hunger” this coming May.
Email reporter Anthony Ramos at [email protected]. Follow @antramosnewson X and Anthony Ramos on Facebook.
发表回复