Boston Globe, January 30, 2025 | The food bank is asking lawmakers to restore a proposed $250,000 cut in Governor McKee’s budget, especially in light of potential federal funding changes
PROVIDENCE — The R.I. Community Food Bank is asking lawmakers to restore a proposed cut to the nonprofit’s funding this year, fearing the rising number of hungry families will grow even more amid uncertainty about federal funding in Washington.
Governor Dan McKee has proposed to give the food bank $550,000 in the upcoming state budget, a 31 percent decrease from last year’s allocation of $800,000.
The food bank serves more than 80,000 people a month through food pantries across the state, up from roughly 50,000 a month before the pandemic, according to Andrew Schiff, the CEO of the food bank.
“If our political leaders see our information about how many people are receiving food assistance in this state, and how that’s grown so much since the pandemic, they would not be cutting us back,” Schiff told the Globe on Thursday.
The majority of the organization’s $17 million operating budget comes from philanthropic donations, Schiff said. The state money is used to purchase food, meaning a cut in funds would decrease the amount of food the bank can purchase.
The 18 million pounds of food given out by the food bank each year is roughly one-third donated, one-third provided by the USDA, and one-third purchased directly by the food bank, Schiff said.
Data from the 2024 Status Report on Hunger found nearly two in five households in Rhode Island have difficulty affording adequate food, also known as food insecurity.
“We are anticipating the threatened cuts from D.C. will lead to more people coming to pantries,” Schiff said.
Schiff said it’s unclear whether the Trump administration’s proposed funding freeze, which prompted chaos and confusion this week, will directly hit the food bank’s federal assistance, which comes in the form of truckloads of food from the USDA.
But if funds are cut to other programs such as free school lunch or other programs that help families, it may push more to need help from the food bank in the coming year.
“We’re very fearful about what’s coming,” Schiff said.
The Trump administration originally said its funding freeze memo, which has now been rescinded, would not impact food stamps.
McKee’s office did not immediately comment Thursday on his budget proposal for the food bank. According to the R.I. House Fiscal Office, McKee also proposed $550,000 last year, but lawmakers added “one-time funding” of $250,000 to bring it up to $800,000 in the final budget, which is the amount the food bank received.
It’s not yet clear if lawmakers will increase McKee’s proposal again this year.
The food bank is hosting a “Food Insecurity Awareness Day” at the State House later Thursday. Schiff said they were grateful to receive state funds at all — including $3 million in COVID relief funds two years ago — but now is not the time to cut.
“We’re just trying to help folks understand that this problem that they’ve addressed has not gotten better,” Schiff said. “If anything, it’s gotten worse.”