One of Pennsylvania’s largest food banks relies on a little-known federal program that allows it to help more people by purchasing milk, eggs and meat directly from farmers at reduced prices.
That program is now in jeopardy amid the widespread rollout of funding cuts and program stoppages directed by President Donald Trump.
Joe Arthur, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the hub for most food pantries in the region, is concerned that disruption to the federal Local Food Purchasing program will threaten their efforts to help feed needy families across the state.
“It hits across the spectrum of food, whether it’s milk, eggs, meats,” Arthur said. “We’re allowed to use that funding to not have to pay retail prices to farmers, but to compensate them for packaging and pick-and-pack-out of their product to get us the donation. It’s really important funding that’s all for food.”
Arthur stressed that losing the purchasing program would be particularly painful given the high quality of the food in question and that the uncertainty is already affecting operations.
“Right now we have to pause our farm acquisition because we can’t take the risk of not being reimbursed for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Arthur said. “Federal funding is definitely important to our mission. We’re monitoring it very, very closely.”
The Trump administration has rescinded many of the cuts and stoppages, but the future of programs and immediate funding remain in flux.
“Until we have assurance that we would get reimbursed, we simply can’t rely on that funding until it starts to flow again,” Arthur said.
The farming sector is being cautious not to appear critical of orders coming out of Washington. Bailey Fisher, a federal lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said the organization is not commenting on the potential funding freezes.
“We are just waiting to see what is factual and gather evidence prior to taking an official position,” she said in an email.
Arthur has an added concern over next agriculture funding in the upcoming federal budget. Already, some proposals would cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which could impact the food bank and harm families who benefit from the assistance.
“If their SNAP benefits are reduced, then they’re going to need to rely even more on the charitable food network,” Arthur said. “So we’re watching that very closely, how that plays out in the coming weeks. Thats a significant area.”
Arthur is keeping close tabs as well on several youth and senior food programs that receive federal funding.
“They are not enormous amounts but certainly they are important when you are in a hunger crisis,” he said.
The food bank is coming off a string of years that have seen record-demand for food assistance across the region, dating to 2020 when the pandemic upended the lives of many families.
In addition, with the rising price of food and household expenses and stagnant wages, the number of families living with food insecurity continues to grow across Pennsylvania.
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank serves 27 counties and works with a network of 1,200 agencies that provide food assistance to millions of Pennsylvania residents.
Food banks in Pennsylvania typically serve approximately 2.2 million people annually, according to state data. Nearly 600,000 people each week are provided food through food banks.