RIVER FALLS – According to River Falls Community Food Pantry Executive Director Candice Anderson, funding cuts that will affect the pantry’s stock didn’t really come out of nowhere, but they kind of came out of nowhere.
Toward the end of March, Anderson received an email from the resource manager at The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) with communication from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The email said Phase 2 funding for two programs, Build Back Better and the Commodity Credit Corporation, had been cut. This includes milk, eggs, cheese, pork and poultry that food pantries receive through TEFAP. According to Anderson, RFCFP receives 10-15% of distributed food through this program.
TEFAP is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of people with low-income by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. The Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), administers TEFAP at the federal level; and all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam administer the program at the state level.
According to fns.usda.gov, through TEFAP, “USDA purchases a variety of nutritious, high-quality USDA Foods, and makes those foods available to state distributing agencies. The amount of food each state agency receives is based on the number of unemployed persons and the number of people living below the poverty level in the state. State agencies provide the food to local agencies that they have selected, usually food banks, which distribute the food to local organizations that directly serve the public, such as soup kitchens and food pantries. State agencies also provide the food to other types of local organizations, such as community action agencies, which distribute the food directly to individuals. These local organizations distribute USDA Foods to eligible recipients for household consumption or use them to prepare and serve meals.”
The types of foods USDA purchases for TEFAP vary depending on the preferences of state agencies and on agricultural market conditions. More than 130 nutritious, high-quality products are available. Products include canned, frozen, dried, juiced, and fresh fruits and vegetables; protein items such as meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and beans; whole and enriched grains such as rice, flour, cereals, pasta, and tortillas; and dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese.
Anderson said the funding cuts mean USDA’s allotments of milk, cheese, poultry, pork and eggs have been canceled.
“We will still receive the nonperishable allotments and produce,” Anderson said. “Like apples, oranges, mixed produce boxes. But I don’t know if it will be affected.”
In a post on Facebook after receiving the news, Anderson wrote: “We cannot be certain of the future but hope the impact is minimal. We will do our best to offset the added expense without disrupting the ability to operate as an organization.”
To put this in perspective, Anderson shared that last month, the pantry received 90 cases of milk as part of its allocation. On average, they get at least 45 cases of milk monthly.
“We’re not getting any more,” Anderson said. “We probably won’t be getting it through May either. So far on the schedule, its gone. Same with the cheese.”
Anderson said RFCFP received about 140-175 blocks of cheese per month, along with 40-80 pounds of frozen pork or poultry.
“Those took the cost off what the pantry has to purchase to provide a good variety of food to people,” Anderson said. “While we don’t get the majority of our food from TEFAP, the things that we’re getting from that resource is stuff that we would normally have to go buy. It offset the costs of purchasing it.”
Choice is a huge part of the mission at River Falls Community Food Pantry. It’s important to Anderson to provide options to her customers.
“You feel more valued if you have options. You want to give people the dignity in the choice of what they’re going to eat,” she said.
After receiving news of the cuts, she admits she stewed in her office with the door shut for a couple of days. In her estimation, on the low end, the pantry will have to find $2,000 or more if it wants to continue to offer those items.
Last fiscal year, the pantry spent $350,000 on food, roughly $10,000-$20,000 per month. This depends on prices and what people are requesting. Rarely do they purchase meat directly; a good portion of their food is purchased through the St. Croix Valley Food Bank, but unfortunately, they don’t have all the options TEFAP helped supplement.
Anderson said on average, the pantry served 15-20 new households per month at its former location near BoJon’s downtown, with a total of 350 families served per month; since moving to 705 St. Croix St., the average is 50 new households per month with an average number of households per month at 600; the highest number Anderson has seen in one month for new households is 68.
“Nine came in yesterday that were brand new to us,” she said. “What will happen if some of the smaller food pantries have so much less food in? We may see some more referrals from more outside of the area.
“We don’t turn anyone away. We just want to make sure there is food for people. No one should have to worry about where your next meal is going to come from.”
Anderson is worried produce cuts may be coming, but they haven’t yet.
“We’re still getting the produce in: potatoes, onions, carrots every week. I just hope that continues,” she said. “That’s huge to be able to get that, because that is free. TEFAP allotments of produce come to us via the St. Croix Valley Food Bank.”
Donations tend to drop in the summer, Anderson said, because schools are out, people are on vacation and organizations take breaks. Most of donations occur in fall and winter, until Christmas.
“From April to September, we’re kind of living/operating off the funds raised the prior season,” Anderson said.
While food donations are always appreciated, cash donations allow the food pantry to stretch that donation even further: For every $1 donated, they can purchase $7 of food at the food bank. They order about 3,000 to 3,500 pounds of food from there per week. Anderson tries to post on social media frequently what is needed; hygiene items, paper towels and toilet paper are always high on the list. People are also encouraged to donate their extra garden produce during the growing season.
“We need help spreading the word to others that we’re here and what we do,” Anderson said. “Every food pantry that works with TEFAP is going to be affected. We are lucky around here because we are extremely supported.”
She is glad to give people tours or answer questions. Reducing the stigma around the need to use the food pantry is a priority and has been since she started in May 2013.
“It’s our neighbors coming in here. Young, old, working people, senior citizens, working families, that visit us for one reason or another,” Anderson said. “We always want to be better than we were before.”
To learn more, email Anderson at info@rfcfp.org or call 715-425-6880.
