DANVILLE, Va. (WSET) — God’s Storehouse, a food bank on Memorial Drive in Danville, is grappling with a potential crisis as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to cut funding for a program that supplies more than half of it products. Executive Director Karen Harris said this news couldn’t have come at a worse time, as they are already experiencing a decline in donations.
The food bank relies heavily on two means: Donations and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, where farmers sell their products to the Department of Agriculture, which then distributes them to food banks. However, the Department of Agriculture announced that they do not plan to carry out a second round of funding for that program this year.
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“We already don’t get enough food to support the people we do serve, so we always have to supplement that with our donated and purchased food,” Harris said. “I’m just anticipating that we’re going to see some cuts in the amount of USDA food we do get.”
Harris noted that 60 percent of those who visit God’s Storehouse qualify for food from the Department of Agriculture, including individuals relying on food stamps, Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income. Donations have also hit historic lows, with an 8 percent decrease this year compared to last year.
Harris is urgently calling for help, emphasizing the need for canned goods, monetary donations and volunteers. For more information, click here.
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