Millions more Americans could turn to food banks soon. Food banks are simply not ready.

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

07/06/2025 07:00 AM EDT
Updated: 07/06/2025 10:52 AM EDT


Food banks say they are wholly unprepared to feed millions of Americans when Republicans’ cuts to traditional federal safety net programs take effect. The GOP’s megabill slashes more than $1 trillion from the nation’s largest food aid program and Medicaid, with some of the cuts taking effect as early as this year. Low-income people grappling with higher costs of living could be forced to turn to emergency food assistance.

In preparation, food bank leaders are trying to convince private foundations and state leaders to give them more money. Some states like Minnesota and Pennsylvania have already been weighing shifting additional resources to emergency food programs or standing up new initiatives to counter the loss of federal dollars. That still won’t be enough.

According to Feeding America, the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program alone would eliminate 6 billion to 9 billion meals annually — roughly the same number of meals the food bank network provided last year. Those food banks would need to double their operations to close the gap SNAP leaves behind.

“There is no world in which I can imagine we double ourselves, into perpetuity,” Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks wrote in a text message.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/06/food-banks-struggle-republican-megabill-safety-net-slash-00439972

[YepYep]

1. A lot of Food Banks Are Empty

When you send ICE after field workers or if farmers don’t have fieldworkers because they are afraid of being deported, then there is no crops to be donated. If tariffs are yo-yoing up and down for no reason, then there may not be extra stock to donate. If economic uncertainty grows because of one man’s ego, then there is no extra stock to donate.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. That's a lot of purchasing power removed from supermarket retail too

Lots of waste. Super was laden with soup bananas last week. No takers at 1/2 the price. Maybe it's vacation time, but maybe it's demand too.

[richdj25]

3. This is already happening in my part of southern

Maryland, where the Capitol Area Food Bank trucks have been spotted in grocery store parking lots, passing out bags of food to what's suppose to be people living in a middle-class neighborhoods. There's also many of us writing checks and what have you to help out.

[questionseverything]

4. I live in a nice little central Illinois town, I am in the middle of the town (75,000 people so maybe a city?)

The big money and newer housing is mostly on the outskirts of town in newer subdivisions just off of the “ belt way”, that’s also where most the big grocery stores are located

But here in the “ inner city “ , thankfully we have the Kroger store. I try not to shop that week food stamps come out as it’s packed and Kroger needs me to shop in between food stamp dates to stay open.( not just me, of course but, cash customers). If that Kroger closes people would have to ride the buses, several miles to get to the big grocery.
Trying to bring home groceries on a bus isn’t something I would wish on anyone, plus you take a chance something will spoil or melt.

With my long ramble I am trying to say, w/o food stamps most the inner city will be screwed including those that don’t rely on food stamps

[Marthe48]

5. I'm going to donate to a food bank in an area that voted blue

While it might seem like a cold-hearted decision to avoid supporting a local food bank, I arrived at the idea after a lot of thought. I'm going to donate to the Northeastern Ohio Food Bank. It took a hit right after the slime got elected.

I was born and raised near Cleveland, so I don't feel as mean about my choice as I would if I just picked a random food bank.

[modrepub]

15. I'm Doing The Same

Live in a Red county. Prior to the last election, my local (Red county) food bank, which I regularly donated to, sent out their quarterly newsletter highlighting several lawmakers (House and Senate) who showed up to support the food bank's programs. Not one Republican was in the mix (county commissioners or local representatives). While not too surprising, it stuck in my mind and I acted accordingly.

[llmart]

6. Are we a great country yet?

Mike Johnson and the rest of the GOP scum, plus the scum at the top of that party are probably yukking it up and saying something akin to "Let Them Eat Cake".

Children will go hungry now. No more school lunches or breakfasts for the "takers". Let those kindergarteners go find themselves a job and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

I hate all these fuckers.

[Evolve Dammit]

7. We have to deliver food to those afraid to come out of their homes. This is a nazi country at this point. n/t

[utopian]

8. I manage a food pantry, can confirm

Covid was a cakewalk compared to what we're facing.

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Thank you for all you've done. ❤️

[patphil]

9. I increased my monthly donation from $25. to $50.

I can't imagine how bad it's going to be when the cuts to SNAP kick in.
I'd like to go higher, but I've got some serious repair work to be done on the house. Hopefully I can double my contribution again next year.
This is one area where even a few dollars can help.

[NickB79]

11. I give what I can from my garden, my coop and my job

Extra produce from the garden, extra eggs from my flock, and extra dairy products from the giveaway cooler at the factory go to my mother in law, who uses some for herself and distributes the rest to people in need she knows in her apartment complex.

[AllyCat]

12. We are involved in a nationwide, organized food bank drive

Every year. We typically collect 3-5k pounds of food in about 3 hours. This year, it was 1100 lbs.

People are not donating. It’s bad.

[Tarzanrock]

13. People aren't 'donating' because they have little to 'donate."

I have previously mentioned the huge multi-block long lines which I have seen of people standing in line on Saturday and Sunday mornings at the Commonwealth Church and the mixed denominational church next to Von's supermarket to receive food pantry items here in the City of Angels. What I noticed on my past trip to the Kroger Food 4 Less a few weeks ago on a Saturday is that on the street sidewalk which runs the length for the massive parking lot for the Food 4 Less store, the Rite Aid store and Home Depot (that sidewalk is about 2 large city blocks in length) it was populated with very poor people spread out all along it with grocery items on blankets [which had been obtained from food pantry give-aways] which these people were trying to sell to passer-bys on the sidewalk. In past times that sidewalk had people on it selling all sorts of sundry items like "T" shirts; tools; cosmetics and everything imaginable except food items. My surmise is that times are getting real damn difficult for the poor and the unemployed and that these people are selling these food pantry items because they need the extra money to pay the landlords the monthly rent so as not to become homeless. Just imagine how economically 'desperate' you are to have sit all day on a concrete sidewalk trying to sell some canned goods you got at a Food Pantry give-away. It was a real eye-opener to me to witness this because even in past economic hard-times such as the Raygun and Bu$h economic recessions -- I've never seen this before here in L.A.
It is going to get real ugly for poor people in the Turd's Fascist Amerika. There is going to be a lot of starvation and malnutrition -- a lot of it. You don't 'slash' "6 billion to 9 billion meals annually" from SNAP and not have hungry, starving and malnourished children and senior citizens.

[YoshidaYui]

14. when you have a political party that DOESNT CARE IF PEOPLE DIE,.....

YOU have to wonder who these people are who want to sit by and watch people die, if they want to be that callous why not make it into ENTERTAINMENT let people die while competing for the utimate prize? Mark my words, someone is already working on the program

[mdbl]

16. Dump is cutting food aid for people that need it

At the same time making the economy suck for everyone making it harder for food banks to get donations. I guess we all just have to hope the big billionaires pick up the slack.

[Javaman]

17. the, soon to return, bread and soup lines. nt

[OldBaldy1701E]

18. Except that this administration does not want to even do that.

They would rather just drive by all the corpses in the street while they sit in their limos and play with their money.

It's us or them, people. Check my signature line for my comment. It should be a standing comment for everything going on around here as far as I am concerned.

[Javaman]

20. you might be onto something, back in the Great Depression soup and bread lines were generally set up by two groups...

churches and the wealthy

mega churches won't give a damn and I think we all know what the wealthy think.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

19. All the more reason why to donate money to your local Food Banks.

After my husband died, I requested in lieu of flowers, make a donation to your local Food Banks. My children thought that a lovely idea that my husband would have approved of. I received many cards from people I know that that is what they did.

For I knew that there would be a need. Consider the same gesture.