Community leaders call for more funding for food assistance

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Local food pantry leaders are calling on the federal government to keep up with inflation by adding more money to food assistance programs.

The Great Plains Food Bank invited community leaders to see what needs to be improved in the new Farm Bill.

The main focus of the meeting was about soaring costs among food where inflation affects everyone.

“Not only is it people who have lived in our communities their whole lives. They’re all of a sudden using our pantries for the first time ever or especially new American families. I think, another thing too is making our pantry not only a food pantry but a community hub so we can do more than just give out food. We’re giving out hygiene supplies and resources to other collaborators in town,” said Kian McKibben, the Chief Nutrition Officer at Churches United.

Those relying on food assistance programs say they want more availability to get fresh items, instead of only being allowed a couple trips per month.

“Some of the fresh stuff like bread and fruits go bad very quickly. You’re only allowed to go so many times a month to some. Some you can only go once like A Place For Hope, it’s every three weeks. A lot of the stuff does go bad quick so you gotta eat it fast. So, just a little fresher stuff I guess. It’s a problem with availability,” says Steven Roman Jr. and Leona Roman.

Leaders want to double the funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program and also want an increase in funding for storage and distribution.

Great Plains Food Bank officials expected this year’s numbers to normalize to pre-COVID levels, but the food bank says it still served 14% more people with 15% less food.

“Right now, we’re paying out of pocket to truck all of that food across the state and we would like to be able to capture some of that just to reimburse our costs. And, with SNAP, we want to make sure that it’s keeping up with inflation. The average benefit amount per person per day is $6.10. That’s impossible to eat three meals on a day,” says Melissa Sobolik, the CEO of the Great Plains Food Bank.

The current farm bill is expected to expire next month but Sobolik says the new one will take time before it goes into effect.