Ozarks Food Harvest will lose an estimated $3 million worth of food this year due to USDA cuts, it announced Monday.
USDA confirmed on March 28 that $500 million in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) food purchases, announced last year to be funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), have been permanently canceled. Without these food orders, The Food Bank says there will be a $3 million food gap this year for local communities in southwest Missouri where 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults face hunger.
The organization is a major supplier of food to the Texas County Food Pantry on East Highway 17 in Houston.
“Our community and network of charities can’t afford to fill this gap, so they’ll be relying on The Food Bank for help,” said Jordan Browning, director of communications at Ozarks Food Harvest. “With the increased cost of groceries and food insecurity at a 10-year high, Ozarks Food Harvest will face a challenging year to meet the increased demand for food across a third of the state of Missouri.”
TEFAP, which moves nutritious food from farms to food banks to families facing hunger, makes up nearly 25% of the food Ozarks Food Harvest distributes to its network of 270 faith-based and community charities. A third of the cancelled orders were protein items like beef, chicken, eggs and pork. The Food Bank says protein is one of the most expensive items to purchase and secure.
USDA recently announced the approval of $261 million for bonus purchases of fruits, vegetables and tree nuts to be distributed through TEFAP. The Food Bank is unsure when these USDA orders will be delivered.
Ozarks Food Harvest is asking the community for help so children, families and seniors can continue to access food without interruption this year.
“If you want to help us prepare for this year, please donate at ozarksfoodharvest.org. Every dollar donated will help provide $10 worth of groceries to families who need food now,” Browning said.
