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Commissioner warns local food pantries could close as federal produce programs shrink
Summary
Commissioner Sean Sikora told the Monongalia County Commission that local food banks are facing deep reductions in produce and dairy allocations, describing an event where a distribution had only five items and warning that a third of pantries could close within a year.
Morgantown, W.Va. — Commissioner Sean Sikora told the Monongalia County Commission on April 16 that local food-insecurity programs are facing steep cuts that could force pantry closures within a year.
Sikora described recent meetings with agencies and the Mountain Air Food Bank and said a local purchasing program (LFPA) “was gutted” and that federal produce allocations under a program he referred to as TFAB were reduced earlier than expected, beginning April 1 instead of July 1. Sikora said the reductions were already visible at a recent county food distribution, where "only 5 items were brought. No produce, no dairy."
"With all the pantries there, probably a year from now, one third of the pantries will be gone," Sikora told the commission.
Commissioners said the county has used its funds to support food programs and that staff and agency partners are working to address growing need. Sikora emphasized rising demand and rising food costs as compounding factors that are straining pantries and program budgets.
The remarks came during the commissioners' reports section, not as a formal agenda item; commissioners did not take a formal vote on policy changes at the meeting but described ongoing coordination with local partners.
Sikora's report identified the Mountain Air Food Bank as a primary local partner and described immediate impacts at community distributions; he urged continued county attention to the issue.
