KENTWOOD, Mich. — Feeding America West Michigan recently learned that the USDA has indefinitely paused several truckloads of fresh food destined for the food bank, creating challenges for local food pantries trying to meet community needs.
The suspension affects approximately 32 truckloads of food that were scheduled to arrive between April and July, according to Ken Estelle, president and CEO of Feeding America West Michigan.
"A lot of that food was really good food. It was protein," Estelle said.
The organization is now working to replace about 600,000 pounds of meat, cheeses and milk that would have come from these USDA shipments. "We're looking at our current food suppliers, and donors, but we're also looking at the fact that we're going to have to purchase food in order to fill in some of the gaps," Estelle explained.
A USDA grant allowing the food bank to purchase from Michigan farms was also initially suspended but has since been reinstated through October following meetings with elected officials.
"We're just getting into the Michigan growing season and we have made commitments to a lot of these smaller farms of what we would be able to purchase from them. So they were... the farms were also depending on us to be able to be one of their customers for their products," said Estelle.
Local pantries like The Green Apple Pantry, which serves nearly 500 families monthly, rely heavily on USDA food as a foundation for their operations.
"It's kind of the base of everything that we provide. You know, it's that bottom foundation of food that is going to create meals for families," said Nancy Cromley, The Green Apple Pantry's executive director.
The uncertainty has created concern among food assistance providers. "We know where we can depend on food, and then all of a sudden this happens, and your first reaction is to panic. But we don't know what panic will get us or what that will look like. So yeah, we're worried," Cromley added.
Despite the challenges, Feeding America remains optimistic about its ability to replace the expected USDA deliveries. "In the big picture, we're committed to making sure that the food is available for our families in West Michigan," Estelle said.
Feeding America West Michigan continues to hope the shipments will eventually be reinstated.
If you would like to volunteer or donate to Feeding America West Michigan,click here.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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