Trump's government cuts will stifle Florida food banks, expand hunger crisis
Dubbed "wasteful spending," the Trump administration last month cut key federal programs that provide funding to allow food banks and schools to buy food from local farmers. That's right, "local" farmers. The abrupt cancellation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement, along with the department's Emergency Food Assistance Program sent tremors nationwide.
The move was dubiously billed as way to cut federal spending, but it amounts to a $1 billion hit nationwide that food banks and pantries here in one of Florida's most affluent counties can't afford. Demand for food pantry services in Palm beach County has steadily climbed in recent years. Currently, more than 173,000 residents risk going without enough food every day, about a third are children, according to Palm Beach County Food Bank estimates.
Someone — most likely individual and private donors — will have to step in and step up. Without additional support, the absence of any federal involvement will leave a devastating hunger crisis that will plague our county.
"They're our neighbors, our children, our seniors," U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., told Palm Beach Post reporter Jasmine Fernandez when asked about the impact of the cuts. "Gutting food assistance now will only increase suffering and strain the very programs that are keeping people fed and hopeful."
The timing could not be worse for any government cuts to food pantries and schools. High food prices, an ongoing problem according to food bank leaders, are only going up, thanks to Trump administration policies. Tariffs will impact prices at the grocery stores as imported fruits, vegetables and other popular items face mandated markups. This, on top of bird-flu impacted shortages on chicken and eggs, hasn't helped keep food prices down.
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The threat to other safety net programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides nutritional support to seniors, people with disabilities and other low-income individuals and families, also threatens to send displaced participants to food pantries. The crackdown on immigration hasn't helped either. American agriculture already faces a labor shortage in farming, animal production and processing. Threats of deportation has made that worse, threatening higher prices and likely spot shortages on grocery store shelves. Neither trend helps local food pantries.
Pantries are already seeing rising demand for their services. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, administrators like Ruth Mageria of CROS Ministries in Lake Worth Beach have seen a 71% increase in people seeking food aid. Citing the area's high cost of living, Mageria told the Post: "People would rather make sure they have a rood over their heads. Then, they will come look for food assistance."
Whatever the reasons driving people to food pantries, it's clear that they now lack a key tool in fighting hunger. The USDA grant programs were the bridge food pantries used to stock their shelves and help hungry families. The federal funds went to local farmers in a program that benefitted both agriculture and communities like the Glades.
Opinion: I am not an economist. But even I know that Trump's tariffs are bad.
At the moment, that resource is gone.
Congress, of course could actually do its job and pass a farm bill that would have money to restore, if not strengthen the USDA feeding programs. Fat chance of that. The Republican-controlled House and Senate seem satisfied with either allowing the current administration to make inexcusable cuts and changes to federal programs, or simply passing continuing budget resolutions that stave off government shutdowns but not address ongoing problems.
In light of that reality, the onus is on us, as individuals and local organizations, to pony up and address what is becoming a growing food insecurity issue. As the phrase goes: "No one will save us but us."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Federal funding cuts hurt food banks, worsen hunger crisis | Editorial
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