Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Community groups urge Council to protect DC food programs as federal support falters
Loading...
Summary
Nonprofits and food-access programs told the Committee on Health the mayor's FY26 budget maintains many grants but that looming federal cuts require local backfills to avoid service losses, with requests ranging from $100,000 to restoring Produce Plus to $2.1 million.
At a June 6 hearing of the Committee on Health, local food providers warned that federal funding changes are already tightening food access in the District and urged the Council to preserve or replace local support for several nutrition programs.
Speakers said DC Central Kitchen, Capital Area Food Bank, Food and Friends, FreshFarm, Dreaming Out Loud and others are seeing sharply increased demand while federal nutrition incentives and grants face uncertainty. "We cannot overlook the vital importance of nutritious food in safeguarding our city's health," Alex Moore, chief development officer at DC Central Kitchen, told the committee. He asked the Council to identify an additional $100,000 to sustain the Healthy Corners SNAP-match expansion in FY26.
The Capital Area Food Bank's director of advocacy, Joe Lew, said that federal turmoil is already driving spikes in need at local pantries. He testified that the Food Bank serves 5,600 seniors under CSFP and that about 1,200 more seniors are on a waiting list. Lew proposed an emergency food program to serve roughly 6,000 residents impacted by federal layoffs, asking the District to cover about $420,000 of an estimated $820,000 cost.
Food and Friends, which delivers medically tailored meals, asked the Committee to maintain $1,335,000 in CHA funding. Executive Director Carrie Stoltzfus described rising food costs and cited program outcomes: "In a recent study of our work, 70 percent of those who receive Food and Friends for six months had lower blood glucose, and 52 percent had lower blood pressure," she said.
Produce Plus and other market-based incentive programs drew repeated attention. FreshFarm director Nick Stavely urged the Council to maintain $2.1 million for Produce Plus in FY26, pointing to 2024 participation and redemption figures: "In 2024, over 6,000 DC residents spent nearly $1,000,000 of fresh fruits and vegetables at over 50 farmers markets," he said. Several witnesses also noted that Produce Plus had more than 13,000 applications in 2024 with a wait list near 4,700 and that early 2025 applications were again near 13,000.
Multiple witnesses said federal nutrition-incentive grants are uncertain or paused. DC Central Kitchen and FreshFarm described no new national USDA incentive grants being issued in 2025, and DC Central Kitchen said existing grant funding may be exhausted more quickly than anticipated because of stronger-than-expected redemptions.
Dreaming Out Loud and other organizations asked the Council to replace local portions of the federal Local Food Purchasing Agreement (LFPA) lost to recent federal cancellations. "If the LFPA funding is not renewed, the consequences will be immediate and devastating," Jaren Hill Lockridge of Dreaming Out Loud said. Dreaming Out Loud and partners asked the city to backfill more than $560,000 attributed to Martha's Table and $160,000 supporting senior food programs handled by the Capital Area Food Bank.
Councilmember Christina Henderson asked agencies and witnesses for updated accounting and crosswalks showing how proposed FY26 line items map to current grants. Henderson said the committee will "take a look" at requests but emphasized that any additional dollars must show measurable impact for the committee's budget decisions.
Ending: Witnesses submitted written testimonies and coalition analyses, including requests bundled under the Fair Food for All coalition. The Committee kept the record open for written testimony and scheduled DC Health's agency team to appear for governmental questioning on June 16.
