Second Harvest Food Bank loses 148,000 pounds of food in USDA cut

LORAIN — Freezer shelves sit empty, and may stay that way, at Lorain County's only food bank. Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio lost more than 148,000 pounds of food scheduled for delivery between May and August through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corp. The Commodity Credit Corp. was established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 and has served as a funding mechanism for agricultural programs since its inception. Its programs include subsidies and loans to farmers, and support for food banks. Second Harvest serves Lorain, Erie, Huron and Crawford counties. On Tuesday, the USDA officially canceled food slated for food banks across the country, including the 12 truckloads Second Harvest expected to unload into its warehouse this summer. For Second Harvest, that cut will mean less protein like chicken, beef and pork, as well as milk and fresh produce and canned items, President/CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said. Commodity Credit Corp.-funded foods make up about 9 percent of the items Second Harvest distributes annually. "It is a common practice to keep programs across multiple administrations," she said. "It is unheard of to go back and reverse a previous administration's funding." The canceled food would have started to roll in to Second Harvest's Baumhart Road warehouse toward the end of May, with dozens of eggs, canned chicken and cheese in the first shipment. In June, Second Harvest expected frozen chicken, milk, turkey and pork; and pork and dried plums in July. Its final expected shipment at the end of August was an estimated 4,000 half-gallon containers of fresh milk. Second Harvest placed its orders six months ago, she said. The Cleveland Food Bank lost about 20 truckloads in the cancellation, Chase-Morefield said, while Akron-Canton lost about a dozen. "Every food bank got the same notification at the same time," she said. For Second Harvest, the cancellation means less protein — something normally not found in its donations, even from retailers. The canceled orders totaled $300,000 to $400,000, she said. "It's not something we can just replicate," she said. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks Executive Director Joree Novotny said she is still gathering a full account of the food canceled on Tuesday, but estimated the loss to Ohio food banks to be in the millions of pounds. Her organization did not receive any reason or information about the cancellations. The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program would have continued to support more than 100 farmers in the state, Novotny said, and provided about $13.2 million over two years toward the purchase of that food. "At the same time, we are facing potential cuts in our state-funded food purchase programs," Novotny said. "And we are already providing less food to each food pantry visitor on average than we have in the last decade because food supplies are already too low compared to historic levels of need for help." In a statement to The Chronicle-Telegram, a USDA spokesperson said the organization still has 16 nutrition programs in place to address food insecurity, support agricultural markets and ensure access to nutritious food. "Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in (Commodity Credit Corp.) funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact," it stated. "The COVID era is over—USDA's approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward." As for the USDA's Local Food Purchasing Agreement program, some may be able to extend their compliance period to December 2026, the government entity stated, but no new funding will be granted. "These no-cost extensions will allow the cooperators the time to fully use all of the previously awarded funding but won't provide them with additional funding," it stated. "At the end of these periods, both programs will sunset." 'We thought we had (one) more year' Also ending July 1 is the Local Food Purchase Agreement program — which makes up about 4 percent of the food Second Harvest distributes. While a smaller share of the nonprofit's overall pie, those LFPA items are locally grown and raised, and purchased directly from farmers through federally funded contracts. In December the USDA announced a $1 billion investment in the Local Food Purchase Agreement program and Local Food for Schools programs, both a response to the COVID-19 pandemic to diversify food supply chains and help support local farms. Last year the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services received $13.5 million to fund the local purchasing program that benefits food banks. Casey Ellington, of Ellington Farms in Louisville, supplies beef and pork to Second Harvest and the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. "It's a lot of risk for us and loss of revenue," Ellington said of the contract ending. "Our little farm, it's my husband, myself and our four kids 10 and under doing the work side-by-side together — it's not an easy job. For once we felt like we got paid what our product is worth and what we (were) worth." Through the LFPA program her farm doubled in size since January 2023 and invested in equipment like a walk-in freezer trailer to meet the needs of the two food banks, she said. Her family expected to have those contracts in place for at least another year. Instead, Ellington Farms will fill the remaining purchase orders between now and June 30. After that, she is not sure. "We bought the cattle, had the butcher dates," she said. "We knew we didn't have forever, but we thought we had at least one more year. We went out on a limb and had faith that the U.S. government would hold up their end of the bargain." Instead, she is left with cattle that may cost her more to feed, and bills due on the equipment she invested in, all while keeping her family farm afloat. Ellington and her husband started Ellington Farms in 2010. The pair came from farming backgrounds but did not inherit their farm, she said. "We can't farm like our grandparents did," she said. "We roll with the punches and pivot and figure out something else." Solidarity Urban Farms in Lorain also sees its produce benefit Second Harvest partnerships through the LFPA program. Urban Farm Manager Amy Melena said she found out a few weeks ago it's LFPA funding through Ohio Community Agriculture Nutrition (CAN) would run out at the end of June. Last year was the first year Solidarity received the funding, which meant any produce it could not sell at a farmers market would go to the Women, Infants and Children food boxes handed out by the Lorain County Community Action Agency through its partnership with Second Harvest. Chase-Morefield said the WIC office asked for an increase in the produce boxes Solidarity Farms supports, as the program has been so successful. "Specifically for that program, we do have a funder that's willing to do that," Chase-Morefield said of the WIC boxes. "But that's one piece." For Solidarity Urban Farms, it meant there was no food waste — everything that was not being sold at a market or handed out through another distribution was still getting to someone in need in the city. At the end of September, the LFPA program was purportedly renewed for another year, Melena said, which would have lengthened it out through June 2026. As such, Solidarity began reformulating its growing plan for this season, including dropping out of a farmers market to be able to sell more food to the foodbank. "Now we're having to pivot pretty hard," she said. While the LFPA program will honor outstanding contracts through June 30, for a farm without a greenhouse like Solidarity, its growing season does not really start until May. Solidarity Urban Farm operates on several vacant plots throughout central Lorain. It is part of other programming operated by Church of the Redeemer, with its volunteers growing potatoes, onions, lettuce, zucchini and other fresh produce and flowers. The urban farm started planting seeds inside in mid-February, Melena said. Through its partnerships with Church of the Redeemer, Second Harvest and other organizations, Solidarity is going to be OK, she said, but said if they were a commercial farm, "we would be in big trouble." "(Those farms) were hiring people, they were planning on this funding being there," she said. 'Have some empathy' Ellington may not have hired additional hands to work her family farm, but she feels the brunt of the lost contract — and expects that pain will trickle down to local butchers, too. "When I have to cancel a bunch of butcher dates … it's really going to hurt them as well," Ellington said. "It's more than just the food bank and the patrons they serve and us farmers — it's our local communities as well. People who may have stable jobs, this has rocked their world, too." Ellington Farms can still sell at its small meat market and farmers markets, but those are nowhere near the volume it provided to the two food banks. The Akron-Canton Foodbank purchased about 3,700 pounds of ground beef per month from the farm; and Second Harvest purchased about the same every other month. She had a hard time finding a flaw with the Local Food Purchase Agreement program, which required food banks to buy products from within 400 miles of the center of the state — meaning the bulk of the produce and meat it funded were from local farms that helped fund local economies and feed neighbors, Ellington said. "They keep just cutting the food bank budgets — it's going to hurt me as a farmer and other businesses, but let's have some empathy and look at how this is going to affect your neighbors and the elderly," Ellington said. Just over half of Second Harvest's food funds come from state or federal sources, Chase-Morefield said — and for its state-funded programs, much of those are originally federal dollars. The problem for Second Harvest is not just the cuts happening now, but what could be next. If cuts keep coming, it will be next to impossible for Second Harvest to find philanthropic sources to cover everything, she said. "The Farm Bill hasn't been appropriated since 2023 and we continue to wait — and the continuing resolution, that's not keeping up with the changes in programs," she said, and noted the uncertainty surrounding whether or not the Farm Bill would even be passed. The Farm Bill provides funding for food banks, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP) and other agriculture-based programs. A proposed $230 billion cut to SNAP benefits is in the budget plan released by House Republicans last week. If budget cuts continue for food banks, Chase-Morefield doubts philanthropic donations can fill the gap — especially over a four-year span. "There's a lot of questions out there right now. … But if we have less food, there's just less to distribute to the families that we serve," she said. Earlier this month the USDA announced the end to the Local Foods for Schools program, a $660 million program that allowed schools and childcare centers to purchase produce from local sources. It was unclear Wednesday what impact that may have on Lorain County schools. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.