A $1 billion cut to the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year could keep fresh produce off the tables of local families.
Among cuts was the suspension of two programs — the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance (Cooperative Agreement Program — that provide funding to states, school districts and food banks to purchase locally grown food.
Food purchased through the programs must be produced within 400 miles of the destination, according to the USDA definition.
In Florida, the loss of the programs is undercutting the supply of produce from farms available for families without access to nutritious foods.
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It’s estimated that the programs would have brought in around $23 million to Florida farmers, according to USDA estimates. Around $1.5 million of those federal food-purchasing funds would have reached growers across the greater Tampa Bay region, according to Feeding Tampa Bay CEO Thomas Mantz.
The loss of the subsidized food-purchasing programs means Feeding Tampa Bay and its around 300 community partners will lose out on an estimated four million meals this fiscal year alone, Mantz said.
On average, Mantz said Feeding Tampa Bay provides around 100 million meals a year to families in need. Now, he said, around 20% of those meals are at risk due to the canceled food-purchasing programs and other anticipated federal budget cuts.
Mantz said the food bank is grappling with how to make up the lost food supply.
Fewer resources with growing demand
“This is a fundamental shift to the economics of a community. And I think folks need to understand that — all of that said — we'll do as much as we can, we'll be here no matter what," Mantz said. "But we definitely are concerned that need is growing at a much faster pace than resources are.”
Grocery prices in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area saw the second-highest spike in the nation in the past year, according to an April study by SmartAsset.
The canceled food-purchasing program also means a significant loss of nutritionally dense foods for Feeding Tampa Bay. Mantz said the majority of food distributed by the food bank is donated by retailers, manufacturers and food brokers.
“So not only are we missing the component of more food, we're missing a huge component of healthy food,” he said.
The food-purchasing programs were a win-win for local growers and residents who live in a nutritional food desert, or who can’t afford organic produce at the grocery store.
Potential state funding is a silver lining
Robin Safley, CEO of Feeding Florida, the statewide organization tasked with managing the food-purchasing programs, said that while the cuts “at this point seem permanent,” she’s hopeful that federal lawmakers reverse course in the future.
“We're hoping still that as they look at these programs, they'll understand the true benefit to the growers, as well as to the food banks and the individuals they serve,” Safley said.
There’s also a state-funded program, called Farmers Feeding Florida, modeled after the federal food-purchasing programs. If state lawmakers increase funding to the local food purchasing plan, Safley said it could be “a silver lining” amid the uncertainty of federal cuts.
The state program receives $6.5 million. Earlier this month, the Florida Senate approved its version of the budget that would allocate $50 million “to address food insecurity and support Florida farmers.”
The funding has been a key priority for Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Wauchula). The process to finalize a budget for the next fiscal year is still underway with state lawmakers.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. She's also a Report for America corps member. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
