The Food Bank serves more than 76,000 people in southeastern North Carolina alone — families from all walks of life. But for new CEO Amy Beros, that work just got a little more difficult.
Beros recently returned to the Food Bank after five years at Feeding America. She previously worked at the Food Bank for years, including almost four years as vice president of development, and said she always planned to return. But when she took the helm in January, she went headlong into some fresh challenges.
For one, the Trump administration has been making efforts to drastically slash federal spending.
“On day one of being back, some of the executive orders started coming out about our funding," Beros said, noting that about a third of the Food Bank's funding comes from federal government funds.
In addition to the emergency food assistance program, the Food Bank also takes part in a USDA program that allows food banks and schools to purchase produce and proteins from local farms.
"We also have a really incredible contract this past year, that's ending in October with the local food purchase program … and that's going to be about $2 million hit to our budget," Beros said.
According to recent financial statements, most of the Food Bank's 'revenue' comes in the form of donated food — over $200 million worth in the fiscal year running through June 2024. Around $9 million came from government grants, and over $2 million came from food purchase programs.
That recently canceled USDA program provided $30 million across North Carolina. Beros said they work with about two dozen farmers across 34 counties — in some cases, these are family farms that have survived largely thanks to this federal grant.
The cuts come as Beros is seeing significant increases in food insecurity.
“It's been really tough, and it's for various reasons, right? It's the cost of products, it's the housing shortage, and we are trying to keep up. Our partners across the state are telling us they're seeing 2% plus more people coming to their pantries, and we know we're not meeting the current need right now, and are trying to to continue to source, to meet that need and anticipate what additional need is going to be coming because of what's happening," Beros said.
The funding cuts come at a tough time — but Beros said the best way to help is for people to volunteer. In fact, the Food Bank relies on volunteer hours equivalent to roughly 80 full-time employees. You can find more information here.
