The Tarrant Area Food Bank is turning to local support now that it faces a combined deficit of $4.2 million due to the ending of federal food-assistance programs. That equates to 2.5 million meals for families across North Texas.

The nonprofit acts as a regional clearinghouse for donated food serving Fort Worth and 13 surrounding counties. It is responsible for distributing a mix of fresh, frozen and shelf-stable products to a network of hunger-relief charities and social services organizations.

The Trump administration is freezing over $1 billion in pandemic-era spending for schools and food banks, six months before the programs were scheduled to end. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced March 10 that it is cutting the initiatives.

The programs cut were Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement, which help schools and food banks pay for food sourced from local farmers, respectively.

Julie Butner, president and CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank, said the organization has been able to maintain balanced supply and distribution through the local food purchase agreement. The food bank also received supplemental food purchasing assistance from the Commodity Credit Corp., the government agency created to protect farm income and prices.

These services, which help make up 30% of the food bank’s purchasing budget, have been axed.

According to a USDA spokesperson, the programs are being cut in an effort to bring nutrition programs out of “the COVID era.”

“With 16 robust nutrition programs in place, USDA remains focused on its core mission: strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious food,” the spokesperson said. “Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in (Commodity Credit Corp.) funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact.”

It’s unclear when exactly the government funding will end. The USDA notified states that the assistance is no longer available and those programs will be terminated following 60-day notification, though the notification date was not provided.

Butner said the Tarrant Area Food Bank was notified March 14 by Feeding Texas, a statewide hunger-relief network, but has not been told when to expect the programs to end.

The USDA spokesperson said the funds are being redirected to “fulfill existing commitments and support ongoing local food purchases.”

The spokesperson did not further specify where the funds were redirected to.

Without the government aid that Tarrant Area Food Bank relied on to purchase fresh goods from local farmers, donations and support from the community will make up nearly all of the group’s food purchasing budget. Butner said she is hopeful the nonprofit’s donors and private supporters will bridge the gap until September, when Congress sets the budget for next year.

Turning toward advocacy

The Tarrant Area Food Bank is pushing for a strong Farm Bill when the 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire in September.

The Farm Bill, officially named the Agriculture Improvement Act, is a comprehensive bill passed every five to six years that acts as the primary agricultural and food policy instrument for the federal government.

Butner said she is concerned any time the Farm Bill is up for discussion on Capitol Hill, but especially now with major federal food-purchasing programs set to expire six months before planned.

Tarrant Area Food Bank is partnered with Feeding America and Feeding Texas in advocating for two main points in the new bill: continued investment in local and regional food systems while continuing the partnership between the food bank and U.S. agriculture; and support for key programs which help offset food costs for low-income households.

The second point is pertinent to ensuring food-insecure families are properly nourished, Butner said. As food costs rise, low-income households will have to decide whether to spend more of their budget on food or other necessities like rent or gas for the car.

“Oftentimes food is the easier thing to forgo,” Butner said. “You can skip a meal a day. You can skip multiple meals in a week. It’s not healthy, but it’s better than being evicted from your home, if you’re not able to pay your rent, or having your electricity or water bill cut off, if you’re not able to pay those bills.”

Programs that would aid in offsetting food costs include the Emergency Food Assistance Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for Seniors and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

In Tarrant County, nearly 10% of households receive help through SNAP, about 4 percentage points higher than the national average, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau.

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