‘People Will Go Hungry’: USDA Cuts Threaten Rhode Island Food Pantries

More than 81,000 Rhode Islanders every month need food. They depend on the more than 140 different agencies across the state that provide food for those in need. That food aid is taking a massive hit as the Trump administration recently made cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency that in part provides food to food banks.

Andrew Schiff, CEO of Rhode Island Community Food Bank, says these cuts could threaten the ability of local food pantries to serve their respective communities. He spoke to The Public’s Radio’s James Baumgartner about what’s at stake.

Andrew Schiff: We’ve seen so many more people telling us that they can’t afford adequate food. In a survey done by the Brown School of Public Health last fall, they found that 40% of Rhode Islanders were saying that they can’t afford adequate food – two out of five households.

There’s a high correlation with poverty. The communities that have low-income families, and low-income populations – Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Woonsocket, even Newport – are seeing a big increase in demand at their food pantries.

Schiff: Unfortunately, they’re all being directed at the same people; low-income families. Right now, Congress is debating huge cuts to SNAP. This recently-debated budget reconciliation is asking for cuts that would make benefits go down by 25%. So for an average family receiving say, $300 a month in SNAP benefits, all of a sudden they’re going to be down to $240. What that’s going to mean is that more people are going to have to turn to food pantries because they’ll run out of those benefits. They’ll run out of money for food and then they’ll have to go for help.

Believe it or not, there’s been an attempt through the USDA to streamline the way kids can get free school meals at school by allowing entire communities to serve free school meals to all students. Providence, Central Falls had taken advantage of that wonderful program. Again, Congress is planning to cut that and it’s just going to make for an administrative nightmare. A lot of kids are gonna lose free school meals.

Schiff: Well, we’re trying to make sure that we keep those shelves at food pantries stocked. We know that after a distribution after people come to pick up the food at a food pantry, they’re wiped out. They’re giving out all the food that comes from the Food Bank and other food that gets donated to local food pantries and waiting for their next delivery from the Food Bank to fill those shelves. It’s, like, constant. For the people who run food pantries, their biggest worry is that there are still going to be people in line that they won’t be able to serve. That’s what we’re all worried about.

Schiff: You know, it’s always low-income families. They’re the ones who qualify for SNAP benefits. We’re of course also worried about that part of the population that isn’t eligible for SNAP – folks who are undocumented. And when they can’t get those benefits, and they are also seeing very, very high food prices in the grocery store, they’re going to turn to food pantries for help too.

Schiff: Last year, the state generously gave the Food Bank $800,000. We use every penny of that state funding to acquire food. That’s it; it’s just for food and the food goes out to food pantries. In the governor’s budget, [he] cut that back to $550,000. We have a number of people at the Statehouse – a bill in the House, a bill in the Senate – asking to increase that amount to $1 million. Again, every penny for food.