Let’s all say it: we’re living in a strange time. As food insecurity continues to rise to its highest point in over a decade, we’re seeing cut after federal cut to piece apart welfare programs that provide millions of Americans with fresh, nutritious food. Below, we include a breakdown of everything you need to know about the impact of these cuts on local food banks and communities.
The Current State of Hunger and Food Insecurity
After a decade of decline, we’ve seen a steady rise in food insecurity the past two years. Why is that? Food prices are up 24% since 2020, but the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant for the last 16 years. Pandemic era support has ended. Millions of families are struggling to keep up with expensive housing, bills, and putting healthy food on the table.
Meanwhile, further cuts to government food assistance programs such as SNAP loom overhead. These changes will further impact food insecurity and make it harder for millions of Americans to find reliable, nutritious food. What’s clear is: More support is needed, NOT less.
Did you know: 62% of SNAP participants are families with children?
What You Need to Know About the Government Cuts
The bottom line: Increased federal cuts = more food insecurity. In early March, the USDA announced over $1 billion in cuts, the impacts of which are already being felt in food banks around the country:
Specifically, the USDA cut Local Food for Schools and the Local Food Purchase Assistance programs, which pay farmers to provide food to schools and food banks. These programs support local producers and provide underserved communities with access to fresh food.
The US administration has also paused half of USDA’s TEFAP funding - $500 million in total to date. The Emergency Food Assistance Program moves food from farms to food banks and pantries across the US to support communities in need.
Access to fresh food shouldn’t be a privilege, it’s necessary for childhood development physically, emotionally, mentally, and for long-term health. Children can’t reach their full potential while going to bed hungry.
The Real World Impact
With summer around the corner, food banks are already in need of extra support. Every year, 30 million children receive free or reduced-priced meals at school. When summer starts, the meals stop, and these families are forced to turn to food banks and pantries for assistance.
This year, food banks are going to have an even harder time keeping their shelves stocked. Some are already experiencing the effects of the cuts now. To name a few:
- In Baltimore, 20% of the food distributed to food insecure households comes from the USDA. With cuts to TEFAP, this will prevent 1.3 million lbs of food - over 1 million meals - from going where they’re needed most.
- In East Tennessee, 21 tractor loads valued at around $720,000 were cancelled - and included over 300,000 meals including chicken, pork, and eggs.
- In California, 330 truckloads of food headed to food banks have been halted. That’s 11 million pounds of food.
- A Kansas City metro food bank serving over 900 nonprofits - including shelters, food pantries and community kitchens in Kansas and Missouri - receives around 2.4 million pounds of food from TEFAP - or 2 million meals that will no longer be provided to midwestern residents in need.
How You Can Help
Move For Hunger is delivering thousands of meals each day to people and communities that need it most, but lasting change starts with all of us. You have the power in your local community to do the same. Take action by calling your local representatives, supporting local farmers and food producers, making a donation, or working to reduce food waste at home.
Everyone has a role to play in the fight against hunger, so let’s work together to support our communities and build a more food-secure future.
