Missouri has lost nearly 1.6 million pounds of food aid since May due to sudden cuts to a federal program that buys food from U.S. farmers and sends it to food banks across the country.
That’s 146,400 pounds of cheese, 433,070 pounds of canned and frozen chicken, 1.2 million eggs, 38,250 gallons of milk, 120,000 pounds of pulled pork, 115,200 pounds of sliced turkey breast, 180,000 pounds of dried plums and 114,000 pounds of frozen pork chops.
The Trump administration in late March slashed $500 million that had already been allocated to food aid nationwide through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP. That canceled 124 scheduled deliveries to Missouri food banks, according to data obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture by ProPublica and shared with The Independent.
Food banks across the state said they have largely made up shortfalls from the March cuts by increasing their food purchases. But some food bank leaders worry that hunger in Missouri will increase with the implementation of changes signed into law this summer to federal assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
“Food banks are the safety net to the safety net,” said Leigh Anne Haun, executive director of Feeding Missouri, a coalition of the state’s six regional food banks. “When you talk about programs like SNAP…any time those start to get strained, or there’s holes in those nets, the food banks are the safety net underneath.”
They are also bracing for increased demand as the federal government shutdown wears on. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned Thursday that SNAP will run out of funds in two weeks if the shutdown continues, and USDA has directed regional SNAP directors to stop working on benefits for November, according to an Oct. 10 letter obtained by Politico.
Meredith Knopp, president and CEO of the St. Louis Area Foodbank, said any disruption the food bank experienced due to canceled deliveries was “minimal,” and that the tornado that hit St. Louis in May and the ongoing shutdown have affected the food bank more.
“Right now it’s just about educating and informing people where they can go for help, how they can get assistance temporarily until the government reopens,” Knopp said of the shutdown.
Knopp said purchases made by the USDA later in the year made up for canceled TEFAP deliveries. On Aug. 1, the USDA announced the purchase of $230 million in fish, dried cranberries, beans and apples for food banks nationwide.
The canceled shipments make up a relatively small portion of what Missouri food banks distribute each year. Missouri’s food banks dispensed 132.2 million pounds of food in 2023, according to the Missouri Hunger Atlas, which is published by the Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security at the University of Missouri.
But Jordan Browning, director of communications for Ozarks Food Harvest in Springfield, said food banks still have to fill in gaps.
The first canceled shipments – over 100 orders of 2% milk headed for 30 states – were scheduled to arrive on May 14, records show. That day, Ozarks Food Harvest and the St. Louis Area Food Bank in Bridgeton were each slated to receive orders of more than 2,000 gallons of milk, according to the records.
At first, Browning said, he thought the deliveries might just be delayed, which had happened in the past.
The next missed delivery date in Missouri was May 31, when all six of the state’s regional food banks were scheduled to receive shipments, according to the records.
“They kept getting delayed further and further,” Browning said. “Pretty much until it finally came to an actual cancellation notice, we weren’t aware that we would have to make up a shortfall.”
Much of the food was high quality protein, the items that are priciest and hardest for food banks to source, food bank administrators said.
The Southeast Missouri Food Bank received all the orders staff were told to expect, according to Heather Collier, donor relations and communications manager at the Sikeston-based food bank, though some were delayed.
But Collier said shipments can be canceled before the state notifies regional food banks that they should expect a delivery.
“Canceled loads, if they’re fully canceled, they’re usually happening before we’re even notified,” Collier said.
Collier said that although the food bank weathered the March cuts relatively easily, she expects coming changes to SNAP to increase the number of Missourians who don’t qualify for federal assistance but struggle to reliably access nutritious food.
The budget reconciliation bill passed by Congress in July cuts SNAP by $187 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The bill also expands SNAP work requirements to include adults ages 55-64 and parents of children over 14.
In the Southeast Missouri Food Bank’s service area, according to Collier, 46.5% of people who are food insecure already do not qualify for SNAP.
“You’re meeting the definition of food insecurity, but not meeting the qualifications to receive assistance,” Collier said. “Food banks are going to have to make that up.”
Haun said community support will enable food banks to continue helping Missourians in need.
“It’s so important for people to connect with their local food bank now,” Haun said. “They need not just funds to allow them to address these gaps, but other types of donations and volunteering.”
Through the shutdown and any future challenges, Knopp was confident the food bank would continue to help.
“It might not always be smooth sailing,” Knopp said. “It might be clunky. But we’re here, and we will be here to support anyone who needs us.”