February Update

Most of the Food Banks in the US depend on a number of different sources for food. One of the keys sources is the Commodities program administered by the US Department of Agriculture as provided for in the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill operates on a five year appropriation cycle and includes many additional programs accounting for billions of tax dollars. A new farm bill is now five months overdue. Unfortunately, the commodities portion of the farm bill has suffered fund issues related to the stalled bill and other quirks related to the past bill that have result in a huge reduction in the amount of food crossing the docks of food banks for follow on distribution to the organizations we work with and eventually to people needing help. How drastic? In 2003 $396 million was spent on food for the Commodities program while $191 million was spent in 2007. When you factor in inflation, the buying power of the 2007 funding is somewhere in the range of 40% of what it was in 2003. That means Food Banks have to find millions of additional pounds of food from new sources just to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, economic conditions are causing new people among the working poor to turn to pantries for help. The reduction in Commodities amounts to over 1 million pounds per year for the Bay Area Food Bank so a new farm bill, restoring commodities flow is becoming critical.
While on the subject of sources of food, for the past six months we have seen a significant decline in the volume of donated truckloads of food from national sources. All the major food producers and handlers provide food donations through America’s Second Harvest-The Nation’s Food Bank Network. The decline in donations is probably a result of reduced production and a resulting reduction in unpurchased items available for donation. Another, scarier, possibility is that computer modeling is allowing industry to better predict market trends. Better trend information would give food producers a better idea of how much they will sell. Therefore, they cut excess by buying, boxing, canning and freezing less food and still not run out. Great for the stock holders but not so great for those who can’t afford the items to begin with! Packaging less may also explain an upswing in offers of fresh produce. Fresh fruits and vegetables are certainly healthier for everyone but most of the church pantries we support can’t store the items for long periods of time so they are available when a family comes seeking help. A permanent decline in national donated goods would significantly increase the challenge of meeting need.
I’ll keep you posted throughout the year on the farm bill and the national donations-hopefully both will improve!