What consumers need to understand about food bank cuts

Earlier this month, the USDA cut funding for two federal programs that spent $1 billion annually to help schools and food banks buy food from local farms and ranches.

Leslie Gordon, the president and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City, said this funding cut is a huge loss, as food banks will spend less to buy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms. The loss of these federal funds also will affect food banks’ work with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, she said.

“SNAP dollars provide support through retailers in the billions and billions of dollars across the United States," Gordon said. "If we pulled the rug out from those SNAP dollars, then you've got the retail sector that needs to find some additional margin in there too.

"All in all, if we're purchasing less from our farmers — whether it's fruit, whether it's veg, whether it's beef, whether it's chicken, whether it's value-added products — for local producers, if we're not buying what they're selling then they're going to need to make more money on the little that they have that's moving," she continued. "We’re going to see that causes food price pressure, too, that’s really hard.”

The Food Bank for New York City provides more than 66 million free meals a year to New Yorkers in need, and its education programs support more than 13,000 children and families. Gordon said cuts to food programs will have significant impacts on the well-being of school-aged children.

"If you're a person who just generally cares about others in your own home community, then you should know that all of the potential impacts in cuts to food programs like school food. If your kid is a school student right now, think about the other kids that might be in his or her class and how they're impacted if they don't have access to good nutritious food," she said. "Maybe the teacher now will have more distractions. Like adults, kids have a tendency to act out if they're hungry.”

Gordon encourages people to advocate for childhood nutrition through learning more about its benefits and impact to communities throughout the country. She also stresses the importance of having conversations with lawmakers about the effect of these program cuts.

“You may say if you live in an urban area or a small village that has no farms, and you can't see farms, that this doesn't impact you. I'm here to tell you that farms impact all of us this is our collective United States food system at work," she said. "You need to be able to speak to your lawmakers to say ‘I care about kids being fed and their childhood nutrition. I care about families in my community and making sure they have the connection to all the good nutritious resources they have. I care and making sure about making sure that food is not only accessible and affordable for me and my family but for others across the United States.’

“We need to get better educated on where our food comes from, how it impacts us, what good nutrition looks like," she continued. "Read early and often; get educated on all these programs. Get educated on the U.S. farming industry. That helps inform conversations that you're having with lawmakers too.”