Just Food warns federal food cuts and rising costs have strained pantry operations; seeks supplemental county funds
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Summary
Just Food told Douglas County commissioners that federal commodity cuts and rising food costs are raising demand and reducing supply for school and community pantries; the agency requested supplemental operational funding.
Just Food officials told Douglas County commissioners on July 10 that reductions to federal commodity programs and rising food prices are increasing demand and constraining supply for school and community food pantries.
Kristen (executive director introduced as Andrea Walker? transcript identified the speaker as Just Food representative) and other agency staff said the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP/TFAP) distributions have fallen by about 30% in recent months and that the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) remains frozen for new enrollments in some regions. The agency reported it receives federal food product but not direct federal operating dollars, and that market-price volatility and donor reductions have tightened its ability to buy and distribute food. Just Food staff said they are seeing very high immediate need: the agency reported serving 242 households in the first three hours of a recent distribution and said it was already operating near capacity.
The agency described a recent use of $100,000 from its fund balance for strategic planning and indicated it had established a school pantry fund with the Douglas County Community Foundation to help schools ahead of the fall term. Commissioners asked whether the organization planned to draw on its fund balance for operations; the agency said it had used $100,000 this year for planning, would maintain food purchasing levels for now, and said its monthly food purchasing power is constrained by inflation and supply volatility.
Commissioners also asked about Just Food’s partners and school locations. The agency listed 28 partners including Lawrence High, Eudora and Baldwin districts and said it serves KU and Haskell through local partners. Agency staff said they do not currently receive compensation from neighboring counties for services there and that most operating support comes from donated dollars—staff said about 80–83% of their revenue is from donated dollars rather than government operating grants.
Just Food requested a supplemental $50,000 from the county to prepare for anticipated higher demand tied to federal program changes. Staff said the organization would prefer to avoid using its fund balance for food purchases if county support is available; the commission asked staff to provide additional financial details during the budget deliberation process.
Ending: Commissioners asked the agency for more detail on fund balance usage, current monthly expenditures, and how county funding would be deployed if provided.
