SLO Food Bank facing deep funding cuts as the need for services reaches historically high levels

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - SLO Food Bank is preparing to handle significant reductions in state and federal funding just as the need for its services is reaching unprecedented levels.

"At the same time we're facing historically high food prices, a historically high number of people are coming to the SLO Food Bank in need of nutritious support," said SLO Food Bank CEO Molly Kern. "We're experiencing cuts from our partners at the federal and state government for funding and food that we used to get to distribute."

SLO Food Bank reports since fall 2024, it is serving on average 45,000 people monthly, which is a higher average than it experienced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're seeing need increase every month," said Savannah Colevans, SLO Food Bank Communications Senior Manager. "More and more people are needing our services. Food is expensive, living is expensive, and so people more and more are turning to the Food Bank to create a little bit of extra room in their budget. It is really dire right now."

Now, as the need for its services grows, SLO Food Bank is facing cuts and reductions to its government funding sources that it says will reach above seven figures.

"Historically, food banks have had a great partner in the federal government," said Kern. "It's been bipartisan, supported programs that have allowed us to make sure that American grown, raised and made food gets to our neighbors who are most in need, but that has been changing, and so as we look to the coming year, we are preparing to serve more people at a time when food is even more expensive, with less support from our federal partners."

According to the SLO Food Bank, it is looking at an annual loss of $600,000 from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).

"The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program has really been a game changer," said Kern. "It allows us to get beautiful locally grown fresh produce from some small farmers in the area, which is something that we're not always able to do because usually we're ordering on such a large scale in order to be able to get great prices. We're just not able to purchase from small farms in smaller quantities, but this program has allowed us to do that, and it has been met with such incredible enthusiasm from the people we serve, but also from the farmers who are partnering with who are so proud to be able to be part of feeding their neighbors while also investing in their businesses, growing their economic impact for their local community at the same time."

SLO Food Bank is also facing a $400,000 cut from CalFood Funding.

"CalFood is a program through the State of California that really does a similar thing to LFPA," said Kern. "CalFood helps us buy California grown, raised, and produced products. It was one of our largest grants to be able to buy California made food. We often times used it to buy more locally or regionally sourced food. We get amazing tortillas from Santa Maria. We work with regional partners to get beautiful produce. It is the grant that allowed us for much of this year to be able to have things like milk and eggs, even when eggs were expensive. It allows us to get beautiful fresh produce, things like onions, chilies, potatoes, lettuce, lots of different kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables that each of us need to have a healthy, nourished life. We're supported by this program, and the $400,000 a year cut is definitely going to be felt by our community in San Luis Obispo."

Another financial hurdle to clear for SLO Food Bank is a potential 20% reduction in financial support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

"All of the food that you see behind me right now is sourced through the USDA, through a program called the Emergency Food Assistance Program," said Kern, while speaking inside the SLO Food Bank warehouse. "It is a phenomenal program that connects food producers with food banks throughout the country, and also provides us with additional funding to make sure that we're reaching our most rural neighbors, and so in San Luis Obispo County, that is really to the east of our county that's so important., and also north and south, where our drive time, and sometimes even the time away from any grocery store is more than 60 minutes. This program has really enabled us to make sure that we are serving the most vulnerable and most isolated community members."

Despite the looming cuts, SLO Food Bank leadership is expressing confidence it can weather the financial storm due in large part to the fact that less than half of its operational budget, just 30 percent comes comes from the government.

"At the SLO Food Bank, we can turn every dollar into four nutritious meals for our neighbors facing hunger," said Kern. "We can do that through a number of different ways and we do it because more than 70% of our operating budget comes from local people and businesses who want to be part of our mission, and that makes us incredibly resilient to changes in government leadership and different priorities. While we have so valued and would love to continue these partnerships, we have an amazing community that has already stepped up to make sure that we can continue to do the work we do, regardless of what happens."