Supply chain problems are impacting the emergency food distribution network in western Massachusetts at a time when food insecurity is again on the rise.
Food supplied directly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) that typically makes up a quarter of the inventory at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is down over 50 percent, said Shirley Del Rio, director of food operations for the food bank.
“We can’t fill this gap on our own,” Del Rio said. She estimated it would cost $1 million - $1.5 million to make up the loss in USDA-supplied food.
The reasons for the shortfall are numerous, she said, citing crop failures, the avian flu, the war in Ukraine that has choked off grain, and products stuck at ports because of the nationwide shortage of truck drivers.
“On the demand side, we are seeing an increased demand from our member agencies,” Del Rio said. The food bank’s online ordering platform has become “super competitive,” Del Rio said.
“Product is moving at a much faster pace than we’ve seen in years past,” she said.
Food is going out the doors of the food bank almost as fast as it comes in, said Del Rio.
“We’re turning product at a very high rate,” she said. This has left member agencies scrambling to find what they need in a quantity to meet the demand.
As a result, food pantries have taken steps that include limiting how many times a month someone can pick up food and reducing how much food goes to households, said Christina Maxwell, the food bank’s director of programs.
“We’re doing our best to respond to our agencies but they are definitely feeling the impact of this and having a hard time serving their participants in a way they are traditionally able to do,” Maxwell said.
The USDA supply chain problems come as the food bank is also contending with inflation and a decline in monetary donations to food banks nationwide.
Demand at the 160 or so food pantries, soup kitchens, and other agencies that are supported by the food bank is rising, Maxwell said, as a result of inflation impacting family budgets and the end of assistance programs that helped stave off food insecurity during the pandemic.
“And that is having a very large impact on our ability to serve our agencies and their ability to serve the neighbors who come in to get food from them,” Maxwell said.
In response, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts has been lobbying federal and state elected officials to budget more for emergency food programs. Specifically, the state’s congressional delegation is being asked to fullyfund USDA’s emergency food program – at $100 million -- in the Farm Bill that is up for authorization. Additionally, $15 million is being sought to just address the supply chain issues, said Laura Sylvester, the public policy manager at the food bank.
“Also to have them think creatively because there has to be a better way to distribute food that doesn’t rely on the methods we’ve used for the last 30 or so years,” she said.
The food bank has launched a new fundraising campaign of its own.
