Abrupt federal funding cuts are expected to strip the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank of 6.3 million pounds of food a year — slashing its distribution by 13%.
Why it matters: Food banks, strained by inflation and rising demand, are grappling with tighter budgets as federal funding is scaled back under the banner of government efficiency.
Catch up quick: The U.S. Department of Agriculture eliminated the $500 million Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) and paused another $500 million in funding from the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).
- LFPA supports the distribution of food from local farms to food banks, pantries and community organizations. TEFAP provides food to low-income Americans in need of short-term hunger relief.
By the numbers: The LFPA cut will reduce the amount of local meat and dairy purchased from Pennsylvania farms by 3 million pounds. TEFAP cuts could reduce another 3.3 million pounds, per the food bank.
- 1 in 8 people in the food bank’s 11-county service area was food insecure in 2022, a 25% increase from the prior year.
- Last year, the organization distributed nearly 48 million meals throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.
What they’re saying: Colleen Young, director of government affairs at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, said the move could hit rural food pantries and Pennsylvania’s agricultural producers particularly hard.
- “In Pennsylvania, we’re the third-largest producer of foods purchased by the USDA through TEFAP, so if there is a massive cut in those food purchases, that’s going to impact Pennsylvania agricultural producers,” Young said.
The other side: The USDA said the LFPA cuts are a “return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives,” per USA Today…