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Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
USDA food cuts come as number of hungry Mainers keeps rising
Mar. 28—The head of Good Shepherd Food Bank is calling a 50% cut in the food it usually receives through a USDA program an "almost insurmountable" amount, saying it will be that much harder to feed the growing number of food insecure Mainers. The first delivery affected by the reduction is on April 1, when Good Shepherd expects to receive 250,000 pounds of food instead of 500,000, said Heather Paquette, president of the Auburn-based food bank. That food accounts for 20% of the food the organization distributes to more than 600 partners across the state, including food pantries and schools. The cuts in the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides cases of U.S.-grown food to participating states, come as the number of Mainers experiencing food insecurity is increasing, putting even more pressure on Good Shepherd and its partners. One in eight Mainers, or about 180,000 people, faces hunger — the highest food insecurity rate in New England, according to data collected by the national nonprofit Feeding America. That includes roughly 45,000 children. Good Shepherd, which distributes about 40 million meals per year, is the state's only Feeding America-affiliated food bank. On Thursday, Sen. Angus King joined 25 other senators in pushing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate food shipments and provide "concrete reasoning of the cancellation of congressionally approved funding" for the program. TEFAP was created to help supplement the diets of lower-income Americans through emergency food assistance. In fiscal year 2024, the program received $461.5 million to buy food, and $80 million for administrative costs. "A cancellation of these funds could result in $500 million in lost food provisions to feed millions of Americans at a time when the need for food shelves is extremely high due to costly groceries and an uncertain economy," the senators wrote in a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. "If true, this major shift in a program utilized by emergency food providers in every state in the nation will have a significant and damaging impact upon millions of people who depend upon this program for critical food assistance." The cancellation "takes food away from hungry Maine people already facing high grocery prices and hurts Maine farmers who are already squeezed by tariffs and other cuts to domestic markets," King said. The senators asked Rollins for answers to a half-dozen questions on topics including the reasoning behind the cancellation, plans for food purchases and the impact the changes will have on dairy farmers and pork, chicken and turkey producers. Paquette said Good Shepherd was notified about the TEFAP impacts this month and went to Washington, D.C., to meet with Maine's congressional delegation, all of whom have supported the food bank's efforts. Good Shepherd was told to expect only 250,000 of the 500,000 pounds of food it normally gets, Paquette said, including shelf-stable boxed milk and canned vegetables. "It's a significant impact to our ability to achieve our mission in Maine," Paquette said. The reduction in food will mean the food bank has to rely more heavily on other sources of food and funding, including donations from retailers and financial donations. But that will only go so far, she said. "We can't fundraise our way out of this." She noted that as hard as the cuts will be on Good Shepherd, it will be worse for the food pantries and other programs directly providing food to Mainers. "These organizations are looking into the eyes of the people experiencing food insecurity," she said. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Good Shepherd Food Bank says federal cuts increase need for more state investment
One in eight Mainers face hunger, according to the Good Shepherd Food Bank. (Photo via Good Shepherd Food Bank) Earlier this month, the leader of Maine's largest hunger relief organization told the Legislature her organization has had to provide 'more food for more people with fewer resources.' That challenge could be even harder now that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is making cuts to food assistance programs including some used by Good Shepherd Food Bank to help the one in eight Mainers who face hunger. Those numbers mark an increase from last year, said Good Shepherd Food Bank President Heather Paquette in her testimony before the Legislature's Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee on March 6. She was there supporting LD 415, a bill to provide an additional $1 million per year to the statewide hunger relief program administered by the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled the Local Food Purchasing Assistance program that would have provided $1.25 million to Maine over the next three years for food banks to source fresh food from local producers. That equates to 500,000 to 600,000 pounds of food Good Shepherd would have distributed to families, according to a news release from the food bank last week. 'Now that we are trying to understand the full scope of the impact of the federal food and funding freeze, it just makes state investment such as LD 415 that much more important,' said Amy Sassi, vice president of government affairs for Good Shepherd. If passed, LD 415 would double the state's investment in Good Shepherd's Mainers Feeding Mainers program, which sources produce from local farms for food pantries across the state. The agriculture committee is slated to discuss the bill Tuesday and decide whether this funding should be prioritized by the Legislature. 'Now, it's even more important that we help the Mainers and keep our farms alive,' said Rep. Anne Graham (D-Yarmouth), the bill's sponsor. Pointing to the projected $450 million deficit for the next two-year budget cycle, Graham acknowledged it's hard to ask the state to spend more money. But as someone who regularly volunteers at her local food pantry, she said she anticipates an increasing number of people will need help putting food on their tables. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
