Food banks concerned about impact of possible federal cuts

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The Triangle’s largest food bank is sounding the alarm about the potential impacts that possible federal funding cuts could have on food insecurity in North Carolina.

Those possible cuts are looming as the One Big, Beautiful Bill that passed the House last week continues to make its way through Congress.

“We haven’t seen the number of people seeking food assistance in this state in over 20 years,” said Jason Kanawati Stephany, Vice President of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Kanawati Stephany says roughly 1.6 million North Carolinians are currently facing hunger, and 1.4 million rely on SNAP benefits to receive meals and food. Those benefits could face cuts as part of the new bill, while food banks could see their own funding slashed.

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At this point, they say they don’t have the resources to meet any additional burden when it comes to hunger.

“We produce over 100 million meals out of these facilities here at the food bank every year. For every one meal that we produce, SNAP provides nine. We simply can’t make up the difference through charity alone,” Kanawati Stephany said.

In total, federal funding makes up more than 25% of the money that the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina uses to buy inventory, much of which is purchased in turn from local farmers.

“We’re already facing a huge gap that we’re working to fill. We simply can’t keep up with the cuts that they’re talking about right now in Washington,” said Kanawati Stephany.