Federal budget cuts are impacting local pantries and food assistance programs, putting their primary food supplier, Ann Arbor’s Food Gatherers, in a state of uncertainty as changes loom.
Food Gatherers provides food to more than 140 partner agencies throughout Washtenaw County.
CEO Eileen Spring says a major source of their food has been significantly reduced. She says the USDA contributes 30% of the nearly 10 million pounds of food Food Gatherers distributes annually. This contribution will greatly diminish by the end of their fiscal year in June.
“That food resource has been slashed in half, which is a lot of food. That will be 1.5 million pounds of food in the coming year, no longer coming our way.”
Spring says they’re collaborating with agency partners to address the uncertainty arising from federal cuts and plan to request support from local and state governments.
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