Federal cuts hit Pierce County food banks. ‘Prices are just through the roof.’

TACOMA – There are huge uncertainties facing Pierce County food banks and the families they serve, Sue Potter, the chief executive officer of Pierce County’s Nourish food bank network, told the News Tribune on Friday.

“I almost want to cry,” she said, tearing up as she described how local food banks are trying to maintain operations amid federal funding cuts and economic changes due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, she said.

According to a statement on the website of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, President Trump has cut more than $500 million from the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program budget through the United States Department of Agriculture, including $10.5 million that was previously allocated to Washington state.

There are 94,000 people, including one in six children, in Pierce County who are food insecure, according to the county government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.”

Nourish Pierce County serves 7% of the Pierce County population and 60% of the food-insecure population in the county, Potter told the News Tribune, adding that TEFAP is a backbone of their program. In 2024, Nourish Pierce County served 66,807 guests and had 441,003 guest visits, equating to a total of nearly 5 million pounds of food distributed, according to data shared by Nourish with the News Tribune.

In 2024, 12% of Nourish’s food came from TEFAP, equating to a value just under $1.1 million, Potter said in an email. Further, because the government purchases food in massive bulk quantities for TEFAP to distribute across the nation, Nourish’s cost to replace losses from TEFAP cuts would be significantly higher – a price that would be made worse by tariffs ballooning costs, she added.

“My problem is I don’t have enough money to buy enough truckloads to fulfill the need,” Potter said. “It’s getting harder for smaller organizations to divide it up because truckers won’t move half a truck, so the vendor has to fill the truck somehow … if you only want a third of a semi of something, you’re going to have to source it more locally or wait.”

She said Nourish is hoping to purchase more from local farmers to avoid shipping costs and to support the local agriculture industry, which also faces difficulty under new tariffs.

Dawn Whitman, director of St. Leo Food Connection in downtown Tacoma, told the News Tribune that their food bank and children’s hunger programs have been hit by recent food price increases and decreases in federal funding that contributes to their food supply through partnership with TEFAP.

The St. Leo Food Bank feeds about 350 to 400 families every day, Whitman said, adding that they’ve seen a 22% uptick in visitors in the last six months. Despite this, the amount of certain food types the organization receives from TEFAP have dropped by more than half, such as meats, eggs and dairy products, she said.

The quality of food the bank is able to offer its visitors, including the 1,900 children supported by their Backpack Program – which provides kids two days of meals each weekend – has also dropped. Whitman said one example is that instead of advocating for lower sodium nutritional soups for children in need, the bank now has to settle for offering low-nutrition Cup Noodles or Top Ramen.

Nourish already expects decreases in fresh produce from canceled USDA food deliveries Potter said.

Further, there has been a significant increase in recent years of visitors to Nourish’s 21 distribution centers, Potter said. According to Nourish Pierce County, there was a 15.4% increase in guests and guest visits went up 15.7% in 2024 compared to 2023.

“If the USDA food gets cut, if SNAP food stamps get cut, if Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security get cut, we’re going to see more and more people needing food assistance, and a whole lot less food coming into the emergency food system to support them,” Potter added.

Shawn Manley, chief executive officer of the Puyallup Food Bank, said since the Puyallup Food Bank is supported by donations rather than federal assistance, their operations have taken less of a hit from price increases and federal budget cuts. However, they face a different issue: artificial intelligence.

Many food vendors have begun using AI in their inventory control systems and to reduce errors in transit, which, although it helps maximize their efficiency, also means less surplus or damaged product that could go to food banks, Manley said. The USDA estimates that about 30-40% of the United States food supply becomes food waste – food banks help to capture and repurpose that, Manley said. Additionally, Manley said food bank clients have expressed concern that the economy is experiencing large shifts as a result of AI while safety nets for food security face challenges.

“I’m concerned about the viability of our local economy,” he said. “People are feeling the pain of not knowing if there’ll be a job that will give them a living wage in a couple years because of AI.”

Although St. Leo Food Connection mostly relies on donations, Whitman said they buy food for their children’s programs and have seen shortages in bulk food retailers as more people try to stock up on food at lower prices. Milk, meat, eggs and rice have especially been harder to come by – and they’re also being donated less, she said, adding that they’ve had to place stricter limits on the amount of servings each family can pick up.

“It has been particularly difficult to get enough of each item, we’re having to go to multiple vendors to get enough,” she added. “Food prices are just through the roof.”

Manley said the Puyallup Food Bank is encouraging its visitors to start their own agriculture projects with small gardens or compact chicken coops to help cut back on costs – a few chickens can save thousands of dollars in eggs each year, for example – and join the growing community in locally sourcing food. He added that the Puyallup Food Bank has set up a produce garden and is in the process of setting up a chicken coop to model the system for visitors.

Many people may not realize how important food banks are in their own communities, Potter said, adding that a recent positive change has been an influx of local volunteers hoping to help their area.

“If (local food banks) go away, it is going to impact your neighbor. It’s your kid’s teacher, it’s the guy at the grocery store who helps check you out every day, it’s the kid at Subway… who’s trying to go to college,” Potter said. “I guarantee you know people who are using a food bank.”