Pa. food banks are facing millions in federal funding cuts as they fear increased need

Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank, is staring down an 18% drop in what it can spend on food next fiscal year.

In central Pennsylvania, a food bank serving 27 counties will have nearly $2 million less for milk and fresh vegetables provided by local farmers in the area.

Federal cuts to food banks have left organizations that fight hunger across Pennsylvania grappling with how to provide for those most in need after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced earlier this month that the $470 million Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program would be eliminated.

In Pennsylvania, state officials said the end of that program means a loss of $13 million statewide.

“That 18% gap is huge and we have to try to fill that with donated foods and donated funds,” Philabundance CEO Loree Jones-Brown said.

Philabundance, which serves Philadelphia, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties, had expected $1.5 million through the now-axed program over the next year to pay for roughly 1.1 million meals across the region. Jones-Brown said with rising food prices, she fears food insecurity is on the rise.

“The plane is not going to stay level. We believe there could be even more food insecurity so therefore a bigger gap for us to fill,” Jones-Brown said.

Pennsylvania’s $13 million in funding for the LFPA program was split between organizations serving every county in Pennsylvania including Share Food Program, which also works across all five area counties, Bucks County Opportunity Council, and Chester County Food Bank. It’s one of several hits that some food banks have taken amid budget cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The USDA said in a statement to The Inquirer that the LFPA program arose out of the pandemic to battle a hunger crisis and that it was returning funding to pre-pandemic levels. The agency noted that it was still releasing previously obligated funds and remained committed to “strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious foods.”

“As a pandemic-era program, LFPA will now be sunsetted at the end of the performance period, marking a return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives,” the department said.

But across the state, organizations warned the cuts would hurt people who depend on the programs as need remains high.

“The sudden cancellation really just rips food resources away from us, as well as the hundreds of thousands of individuals who rely on us,” Jess Bautista, a spokesperson for Philadelphia’s Share Food Program, said in an email. The organization had expected to receive $1.4 million by July.

The Bucks County Opportunity Council lost roughly $260,000 annually.

“We’ve been able to use this funding to purchase healthy foods, healthy high-quality foods from local vendors,” said Erin Lukoss, the organization’s CEO. “We’ll be sacrificing health for quantity and trying to purchase things that are less expensive.”

And farther west the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is losing out on about $1.8 million that was set to come between April and June.

“That’s a substantial amount and 100% of that was for food that we acquire from Pennsylvania farmers,” said Joe Arthur, who heads the food bank. “So milk, eggs, meat, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables grown and produced here.”

These cuts, providers are quick to note, don’t just impact clients of Pennsylvania’s food banks. They hurt the bottom line of local farmers and other producers.

One of those farmers, third-generation Carlisle dairy farmer Amy Brickner, says she’s straining more to cover her costs with the loss of funding. The program contributed about 7% of her farm store’s revenue on her 70-cow dairy farm. That’s a nerve-wracking loss in a moment when dairy farmers are watching cattle and milk prices cautiously as tariffs take effect.

Brickner’s Destiny Dairy provides upward of 40 gallons a week through the Food Bank, which helps a shelter in Carlisle and the Salvation Army serves 60 to 70 meals a day.

It’s been a win-win, Brickner says of the partnership, because her extra milk doesn’t get dumped into a manure pit — it goes to shelters where it’s in high demand.

Brickner said she’ll continue to donate as much milk as she can.

Democratic state lawmakers who have been in touch with local food banks are bracing for the impact, not just on hungry residents, but to food costs more broadly.

State Sen. Sharif Street, who represents a section of North Philadelphia, said he’s spent the last week giving out meals — recently packing up chicken, rice, hummus and pita with Philabundance for Ramadan. “We’ve been giving out 200 meals a day, 1,000 on Fridays because the food insecurity is so high,” he said. “Cutting those food pantries, that food, it’s hurting people here that need to receive the food, it’s hurting the producers of food, and ultimately, as you shrink capacity, it’s going to bring up food prices.”

And while Republicans have tended to defend or stay silent about the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts across the federal government, the impact on food pantries has prompted some pushback.

State Rep. Dave Zimmerman, a Republican who represents parts of Berks and Lancaster Counties, attended an event in Germantown last this week and said he’d hope to see food bank funding restored if the cuts are impacting services.

“One of the things I really strongly believe is that the least we can do, and should be doing, is at least making sure people are fed,” Zimmerman said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of adjustments along the way. I think they’re digging deep and it’ll take a little time to have that all shake out. And in the end, I hope we can, at least anyone that’s hungry, we should feed.”

While the USDA has framed the cuts as a pandemic-era infusion that is no longer needed, every organization The Inquirer spoke to said the number of people they are serving now mirrors the heights reached in the early days of COVID-19. Rising inflation across all sectors is driving food insecurity.

“The higher the cost of housing goes, the more people that are having to make concessions within their budget,” Lukoss said. “So they’re reaching out to the charitable food network for help.”

Providers worry the Trump administration’s policies including federal budget cuts, tariffs, and proposed cuts to food stamps and other social safety net programs will only exacerbate the need.

“If the economy is worse for people there end up being more people facing hunger,” Jones-Brown said. “That puts a strain and we need to do more.”

As they face uncertainty around this funding and other streams food providers say they’re hoping to increase philanthropic donations and are adjusting purchasing plans to take advantage of the best prices. They’re also putting pressure on local, state, and federal officials to restore support or develop new programs.

“I want to remain hopeful that the new administration will similarly come up with programs that will support people facing hunger,” Jones-Brown said.