Kern County’s largest food bank is bracing for a major loss in resources that could leave thousands of local households without critical food assistance. The Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) Food Bank Administrator, Kelly Lowery, warns that deep cuts to federal and state programs could lead to a one-third reduction in food distribution, affecting more than 5,000 families who depend on the service every month.
The cuts primarily impact the USDA’s Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides essential food staples like eggs, milk, cheese, turkey, pork, and chicken. According to Lowery, these high-quality items will no longer be part of CAPK’s deliveries countywide.
“That means that what is coming will be far less,” Lowery said. “In total, it represents about a third of the total pounds we distribute from that program. If this is the direction that it’s going to look like in 2025, we may have to reduce service as a measure.”…