Summer Food Shortages Now at Critical Levels
As we think about children heading back to school in August, we know that many will be thankful to get back to receiving free or reduced cost meals through the schools. This summer has been a difficult one for both our operations and the local food pantries we support with food resources because demand has been high, and resources have been scarce.
A confluence of economic impacts and reductions in federal food assistance over the last year is continuing to cause substantial reductions in the amount of food the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank can provide to its member food pantries – directly impacting children, families and individuals who are food insecure. With sweeping changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on the horizon, demand is expected to increase which will add stress to a hunger relief system already stretched thin.
Over the past year, the Food Bank has faced mounting pressure from all sides: a steady increase in the number of clients seeking help each month, ongoing inflation impacts, rising food costs, and a 40 percent reduction in federal food support since 2024. In addition, cuts to grant funding that once helped the Food Bank purchase food from small local farmers—and a decline in donations from both corporate partners and individuals—have further limited available resources.
We have reached a point where we have no choice but to once again reduce the amount of food per household we can distribute to our member agencies. The increased costs of acquiring food, along with less available federal food resources, lead to empty shelves and a rationing of food resources until we can garner additional community support to meet the demands on the front lines of hunger.
Over the last 12 months, we have had to reduce the amount of food in each box for food clients from 25 pounds to 20 pounds. Now, with current inventories down and anticipated federal food allocations trending lower than expected, boxes have been reduced again to 15 pounds which means less food per household.
In short, this is a critical time for our mission because families will continue to need help to make ends meet and many more may be seeking assistance after any new SNAP cuts take effect. The fear is that there will not be enough food resources to meet that need. If there were ever a time where we are really going to need support from our community to help our friends and neighbors – now is that time. We hope that you will answer the call once again and we thank you for your ongoing support of our mission to serve others.
Summer Meals Meets Children Where They Are
