Across the nation, food banks are bracing for a ripple effect from a massive funding halt by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including here in Kern County. 13 USDA deliveries have been canceled to CAPK, putting thousands of local families at risk of going hungry. In 2024, the food bank distributed over 10.5 million pounds of food through its temporary emergency food assistance program, but with the latest announced cuts by the USDA, he says theyre expecting a 33% reduction in resources.Across the nation, food banks are bracing for a ripple effect from a massive funding halt by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including here in Kern County.13 USDA deliveries have been canceled to CAPK, putting thousands of local families at risk of going hungry. As food lines grow longer and resources dwindle, what was once a lifeline for many is now in jeopardy. "In general terms, that means that in 2025, we're gonna have roughly around 3 and a half million pounds less than we did in 2024," said CAPK Food Bank administrator Kelly Lowry.Lowry is preparing for what he says is a crisis in the making.Demand has more than doubled in the last two years due to inflation and rising food costs," he saidIn 2024, the food bank distributed over 10.5 million pounds of food through its temporary emergency food assistance program, but with the latest announced cuts by the USDA, he says theyre expecting a 33% reduction in resources.Lowry explained that the cuts will impact around 5,000 families per month, reducing the number of households the food bank serves from 17,000 to 12,000. The food bank operates 53 distribution sites across the county, and with food insecurity increasing, the cuts come at a particularly challenging time.In January of 2023, Kern County food insecure neighbors were accessing food from the CAPK food bank network over 92,000 times every single month. And now the lines are more than double and we're engaging over 200,000 times every single month.State resources, already strained by a budget deficit, are unable to fill the gap, leaving the food bank reliant on private donations. Lowry emphasized that the cuts highlight a larger issue of food insecurity that needs to be addressed at the governmental level.in this environment that we're in right now, there's a lot of cuts being made across a lot of social programs. and as cuts are made and other programs, it creates downward pressure on what is the safety net to all all social programs, and that's the food bankLowry said in light of these recent setbacks, they're urging the community to reach out to their local state and federal representatives and urge them to help strengthen our local food bank in Bakersfield.Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere: Download Our Free App for Apple and Android Sign Up for Our Daily E-mail Newsletter Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram Subscribe to Us on YouTube ...read more read less