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Harte Alabama Food Bank warns of deep federal cuts; mayor and county to provide partial support, CEO says
Summary
Michael Coleman, CEO of Harte Alabama Food Bank, told council the agency faces more than $500,000 in funding cuts and loss of a USDA shipment equating to over 1 million pounds of food; he said the mayor and county offered support but additional funds will be needed to maintain service levels.
Michael Coleman, chief executive officer of Harte Alabama Food Bank, told the council the organization faces a major drop in federal food support and urged continued local assistance to meet demand.
Coleman said USDA cancellations removed roughly 23 truckloads of food that had been bound for the food bank and that the organization faces more than $500,000 in funding cuts. He told councilors the food bank currently pays nearly $800,000 out of pocket each year to supply about 4,000,000 meals to Montgomery residents.
Coleman said the mayor has offered generous support and the county is contributing, but local assistance will cover only about 25% of the shortfall; the food bank will need additional help from other partners to bridge the gap. "I'm certainly appreciative for that," Coleman said, and he asked to work with council members and staff on solutions.
Council members thanked Coleman and signaled a willingness to work with the mayor's office and county officials. No council funding action was recorded in the work session; Coleman said he looked forward to follow-up from city leadership on how to address the deficit.
This public-comment item drew attention to emergency food distribution and the role of local government in supplementing reduced federal shipments.
