By: Allie Wilson – Director of Northeast Operations
Hello from Allie at FoodRecovery.org. I’m sure your inbox is filled with messages from organizations like ours describing the impact of recent federal decisions and before you scroll on, hear me out.
We wanted to take this opportunity to have a frank conversation regarding hunger in the US.
Since 2020, food pantries and food banks across the country have seen a drastic increase in people needing food assistance. In meetings with our community partners in 2021, it seems like we were always hearing that local pantries were seeing more people in need of food than ever before. My own community of Monmouth County, NJ, has seen a 25% increase in people facing food insecurity between 2019 and 2022.
While we have been facing increased food insecurity since the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue has been further exacerbated by the current administration.
The rising cost of living, unexpected increase in interest, tariffs that will actively impact the everyday consumer, bird flu causing the price of eggs to increase, and other barriers, has made food insecurity a reality for many Americans who were previously food secure.
Even farmers are facing challenges that will further food access barriers. Farmers are facing financial uncertainty due to the government funding freeze, making it even more difficult for them to produce food and maintain a livelihood for themselves and their families. Since about half of farmworkers in the US are undocumented, farms are forced to meet demand while their workforce diminishes due to threats of mass deportation. These factors and others will further raise the price of food and, you guessed it, cause even more food insecurity.
On top of the issues mentioned above, organizations that have been fighting hunger are facing significant challenges as well.
Like many nonprofit organizations, FoodRecovery.org relies on grant funding to run our programs. Each year, we apply to many grants to raise enough money to continue and expand our food recovery work across the country. We have received funding from government grants through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and previously received funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to a recent study by the Urban Institute, 2/3rds of nonprofits surveyed received at least one government grant or contract. Funding from government institutions allows nonprofits nationwide to function, allowing us to continue providing millions of pounds of food to communities in need across the country.
Unfortunately, due to the recent government funding freeze, we and our partners across the country are in a lurch. While a judge recently overturned this decision, we still cannot access the funding that was previously granted to us. The government website where we submit receipts and invoices to is not working. This creates a lot of uncertainty in our work, taking our attention away from providing food to our partners across the country and making us focus on fundraising and other grants while we wait for the governmental grant portal to work. It’s inefficient, stressful, and keeps us away from our mission.
As we continue to face these challenges, we at FoodRecovery.org are further leaning into our connections across the country to provide support where we can. Now every community is a community in need. Every community.
And in moments like these, communities come together and collaborate to overcome their struggles. We’ve witnessed it during the COVID pandemic, and we see it today as we fight record breaking levels of food insecurity.
FoodRecovery.org isn’t just about FoodRecovery.org. It is about individuals, families, households, shelters, food receiving partners, and so many more. Foodrecovery.org is an ecosystem of people who care for one another, and work relentlessly so that no child, no family, no one, lives in food insecurity, not today, not ever.
Our work is even more crucial now. Providing food to organizations across the country, to community fridges, shelters and food pantries in our neighborhoods and yours, that serve people like you and me who may be facing food insecurity. Now more than ever, we are looking for support from our community.
If you would like to support FoodRecovery.org, please check out our general fundraising page.
Financial donations go towards the transportation of food donations, logistic coordination of food donations across the country, and more. If you aren’t in a position to donate financially, you can help us by spreading the word about FoodRecovery.org via social media- you never know who can reach through a post!
Lastly, if you’d like to donate your time and volunteer with us, reach out to us at hello@foodrecovery.org.
Let’s continue to confront food insecurity through collaboration and community!