JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A food bank in Northeast Florida told Action News Jax Friday it’s feeling the pressure after recent federal funding cuts went into effect.
“We know that there are 272,000 food-insecure people in our service area, said Susan King, President and CEO of FNEFL. “That translates to one in eight adults and one in five children. So the numbers are significant.”
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The recent federal funding cuts by the USDA are affecting food banks like FNEFL, which relies on federal food assistance programs for roughly 20% of its food supply. Now, the food pantry is dealing with empty shelves and more people to feed.
“We’ve been able to quantify since we received notification that it was approximately eight tractor-trailer loads that would have come to us,” said King. We approximate the value of those eight loads at about $850,000.”
Another issue King said they’ve been dealing with are delays in food loads from some of their providers.
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“Unfortunately, people are hungry every day,” said King. “You can’t necessarily ask somebody to wait a few weeks until that load comes in. So those are additional pressures on our agency.”
However, King tells me, despite the uncertainty in what’s to come, the food bank isn’t going anywhere.
“We made it through COVID. We’ve made it through hurricanes,” said King. “The support of the community I know is going to get us through this challenge.”
You can donate to Feeding Northeast Florida by clicking here.
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