The Trump Administration’s recent cuts to several programs concerning food insecurity could find Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg with at least 100,000 fewer dollars and an ever-increasing waitlist for people requesting services.
In the proposed federal budget continuing resolution as well as other cutbacks, fewer dollars will be allocated for Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, according to U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6).
The two cooperative agreement programs provide schools and food banks with money to purchase food from local farms.
On Wednesday, McClain Delaney visited Manna’s food warehouse in Gaithersburg, the Upcounty Regional Service Center and the Upcounty HUB, both in Germantown.
“We have these chaotic and ridiculous reductions in government” that are causing the area economy “to tank,” she said.
When thousands of government employees are fired, they stop making purchases and struggle to pay their bills, she said, adding these reductions in force cuts have a ripple effect.
Anyone applying to get monthly food boxes from Manna were told they had to wait two weeks. Now, the wait list has expanded to six weeks and nearing seven, said Manna CEO Craig Rice.
He said he was “blindsided” by all the cuts, because thanks to COVID, nonprofits and other charities proved they could help people without overusing the federal government.
But if the Capital Area Food Bank in D.C., which Manna partners with, loses funding, Manna stands to lose “north of 100,000k easily,” Rice said, adding, “It could be a lot more.”
Manna currently serves 4,400 families a month with fresh produce, meat, dry goods and other foods. It also serves thousands of school students.
That monthly allocation used to cost Manna between $45 and $50 per family every month. That cost has risen to about $72 a month, according to Steve Corrozi, managing director.
“Many of our families are dual income with children,” he added.
Several Manna employees said it was difficult to say how many people are food insecure in Montgomery County. Some statistics say that number is between 10 and 11 percent, but they said that was “grossly underrepresented.”
Some families don’t know how to sign up or where to go for free food. Some are fearful of being deported so don’t sign up, they said.
McClain Delaney and Rice acknowledged that as bad as things appear now, they only are going to get worse as the federal job and program cuts continue and trickle down to state and county government allocations.
“We are kind of that canary in the coal mine,” Rice said, noting that when people lose income, they still have the immediate need to quenching their hunger.
“There’s so much wealth in this country. We should not have hungry children. We should not have hungry adults,” McClain Delaney said, adding, “My heart is heavy.”
Also affected by these cuts are farmers, who grow the food that are used at food banks.
Linda Lewis of Lewis Orchards in Dickerson told Delaney, “This is my job, to feed everybody.”
Last year, she took in $73,000 from SNAP, WIC, the federal supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children, and other government sources. For every $1 provided from these government programs, the recipient receives $2 in food.
“It’s a challenging landscape, and we are going to get through it. We have to keep swimming,” McClain Delaney said, adding, “This is a created nightmare.”
