In a church library in Storrs Friday morning, faith leaders and food pantry directors from across Eastern Connecticut were gathered to speak with United States Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District. The early spring sunshine streamed in through open blinds, but a somber cloud hung over the room. Ea rlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled two programs — the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food for Schools program — that provided roughly $5 million to Connecticut schools and food banks to purchase fresh food from local farms. Days later, the USDA canceled fresh food deliveries under another program, known as The Emergency Food Assistance Program or TEFAP. The decisions by the Trump administration have left food pantry leaders in Connecticut worried about their ability to provide enough meals to their communities. As they pulled chairs and couches into a cozy circle in the library of Storrs Congregational Church Friday, those concerns were evident. “These local pantries, I think they feel like they got punched in the gut the last couple weeks,” Jason Jakubowski, president of Connecticut Foodshare, said. “What do you do? You either have to buy enough food to make up the difference, or people are going to get less food.”  Jakubowski said the loss of TEFAP would keep 1.4 million pounds of food from reaching pantry shelves statewide. Janis Hoyle, Director of the Storrs Congregational Church pantry, explained at the beginning of Friday’s gathering the impact federal cuts were already having at her operation, where 98% of families meet the income requirement to receive TEFAP. “TEFAP’s so important, with the meat, with the produce, with the fresh things, with the ready-to-put-in-the-microwave stews and chilies and things like that,” Hoyle said. “We’re noticing a difference already.”  Jakubowski said he hopes Connecticut lawmakers can bridge some of the gap that has appeared in food bank funding. The legislature’s Human Services Committee passed House Bill 7021 earlier this month, which calls for $10 million for the state pantry network. Food pantries currently receive less than $1 million annually from the state of Connecticut — far less than what neighboring states spend. “If the state were to approve that request for $10 million, it would certainly lessen the blow of a lot of this,” Jakubowski said.  Courtney said he shared the frustrations of the food bank leaders, and he urged them to speak out. “The philosophy within the Office of Management and Budget that the executive branch can just reach out and impound funds that have already been lawfully appropriated is just completely illegal,” Courtney said. He added that with enough pressure from constituents and state governments, these federal actions may be reversed. “The White House right now is starting to understand that their political position is not as invincible as they thought,” he said. But for the time being, many of the individuals operating food pantries feel hopeless and stuck. Kimberly Clark is the executive director of Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic, which serves three meals a day and has recently expanded its food pantry’s hours of operation to account for growing need. She said the federal cuts will be devastating to service providers like hers. “It’s taking food off the plates of children, of families. It’s that simple,” she said. Like the other food pantry leaders present, she didn’t see a clear path forward. “What do we do?” she asked. “Who do we call?”  ...read more read less