Federal cuts are about to cripple Central Mass. food pantries

Denise Mussuelli does not want anyone to go hungry.

As the pantry manager for the People’s First Food Pantry of Uxbridge, Mussuelli told MassLive that more and more people are using the pantry.

From 2021 to 2024, the number of people who used the Peoples First Food Pantry more than doubled from 1,500 to almost 3,500.

Mussuelli’s mission, however, is about to become harder after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) canceled $3.4 million allocated funds from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to Massachusetts in March.

“Eventually, it’s going to become difficult,” Mussueli said. “I’ll just never understand why they are cutting the social (programs). This is food. People need to eat. People need to not go hungry.”

At the NAC Food Pantry in the Northbridge community of Whitinsville, Pantry Director Julie Blair is concerned as well.

Northbridge has a poverty rate of 8.2%, according to the U.S. Census. That’s relatively high compared to surrounding towns such as Uxbridge, Grafton and Upton.

Like in Uxbridge, more people are using the pantry, with clients telling Blair they are worried they won’t be able to feed their families.

“I know people are nervous and people are trying to keep food on the table,” Blair said. “Trying to feed their kids and that’s one more place where they now have to fill a gap.”

The canceled funds would have provided 121,830 cases of pre-selected food items such as eggs, chicken, milk, fruit, pasta, beans and salmon for Massachusetts food banks, according to a press release from Gov. Maura Healey’s office.

For Worcester County, the cuts have resulted in the cancelation of 17 out of 97 shipments of food planned for delivery from May to August, according to Jean G. McMurray, chief executive officer of the Worcester County Food Bank. The amount of food in the 17 shipments would have been able to fill four and a quarter tractor trailers, McMurray said.

“One third of the food the Worcester County Food Bank Distributes is donated by USDA,” McMurray told MassLive. “It is about 18% of the food from USDA now gone.”

The donations provided by the USDA are given to the food bank and then distributed across the county to different food pantries, McMurray said.

The pantry receives donations from the USDA, the state and the town. As a result of these cuts, McMurray said that the bank is going to purchase about $475,000 worth of food to make up for the cancellations.

It is also unclear to McMurray if these cancellations will be the only ones that occur during the Trump’s time in office.

“We don’t know if they’re going to be more cuts from the USDA in terms of the food that we’re expecting,” she said. “So that’s what’s keeping us up at night because we’re very concerned.”

What’s causing the rise in usage

One key reason more people are using food pantries is the rise in prices, according to Blair.

During her five years as director, Blair said there had been a jump in people using the pantry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pantry is still being used more as food has become more expensive due to inflation.

Approximately 300 families a month are fed with the food stored in the fridges at the pantry, Blair said.

“I think people’s income isn’t really filling the gaps for them to keep food on the table,” Blair said. “So we’re seeing new folks that are needing some support and food.”

In Uxbridge, Mussuelli said there was a 46% increase in usage month-over-month from last year. The numbers are starting to level out, but usage is still up, she said. On average, the pantry sees around 300 people use its services a month. In January, 281 people used the pantry, and 306 people used it in February, according to statistics Mussuelli provided.

“These are families that need to be fed,” she told MassLive, “families of young children.”

It’s not just food that the pantries provide for people. Donations of toilet paper, backpacks and toothbrushes are stacked on shelves in both pantries.

Concerns over SNAP cuts

The USDA cuts are not the only cuts the pantries and the food bank are worried about.

There has been a growing concern over the Republican-led Congress and Trump administration considering cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

A recent budget framework passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives directs The Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP, to cut $230 billion, according to Newsweek. This has led to anti-poverty groups to raise alarms over the possibility of SNAP benefits being cut, Newsweek reported.

“We have to be prepared for a number of different scenarios,” McMurray said. “Those programs would have a huge ripple effect, because any time a family’s resources are impacted, reduced, we are going to see those people needing food pantries.”

Right now, however, all the food pantries can do is do their jobs and wait to see if further cuts do happen. Mussuelli said the community of Uxbridge has been donating food and supplies to the pantry.

“The Uxbridge community is amazing,” she said. “The minute you say ‘oh my gosh we’re in need,’ they come out and they just support.”

Donations to the Peoples First Food Pantry can be made by visiting the pantry’s website.

Monetary donations to the NAC Food Pantry can be made by scanning the QR Code on the pantry’s Facebook Page and then selecting the donations tab.

The Worcester County Food Bank accepts both food and fund donations on their website.