The City of Oakland started advising several of the city’s free summer lunch programs that funding would soon disappear. It’s a scenario that has put pressure on food banks and organizations dedicated to feeding Oakland’s growing population of food-insecure families. “With food price s so high we are expecting that this will be an even more significant on the families,” said Elizabeth Gomes, chief impact officer of Alameda County Community Food Bank. As the City of Oakland faces severe budget constraints, officials said it will limit free summer meals to a select number of recreation centers and libraries. The city administrator’s office told NBC Bay Area, that the office is currently discussing whether that number can be expanded. “We’re a food bank and we cannot make up for the loss and the meals that this cut is making in our communities we’re already struggling to meet the demand for food,” Gomez said. Summer break is about six weeks away for Oakland public schools, and the move is expected to impact hundreds of families scrambling to find another place for their children to get a free meal. The move is also expected to increase demand at local blood banks that are already navigating how to handle federal funding cuts. The demand is already high for the East Oakland Boxing Association, which already distributes meals to more than 200 families a week. “Imagine what it’s going to be like during the summer,” said Dawna Williams, interim executive director of the EOBA. “If they’re food insecure now, they are going to be more food insecure during the summer.” Free summer lunches are federally funded through the USDA, which reimburses the cost of the actual meals. However, costs for facilities and other expenses fall to the city. “We have a meeting we set up with the City of Oakland to learn more about the decision behind this, to learn more about what the actual impact will be in our communities,” Gomez said. Oakland distributors have already begun fundraising for food and taking as many donated healthy snacks as they can. “Stockpiling stuff for the summer, apple sauce, granola bars, things like that. We’ll make it work, we always have, we’re just scrambling to figure out what it’s going to be,” Williams said. ...read more read less