Action Pathways food‑bank officials tell liaison committee hunger remains high in Cumberland County

Action Pathways’ Second Harvest food‑bank representatives told the Cumberland County City–County Liaison Committee on a recent meeting day that food insecurity in the county remains higher than the state average and that federal program cuts are reducing the food supply they distribute to local partners.

The food bank’s regional director, David Griffin, told the committee the organization serves a seven‑county region and that “our main mission is to end hunger.” Griffin said the food bank distributed roughly 16,000,000 (pounds) in 2024 across its network and that the organization moves about 5,200,000 pounds within Cumberland County alone.

Those distributions include a backpack program Griffin said serves “about 10,000 backpacks every school year” for students, a senior program serving roughly 1,800 seniors monthly in the county, and emergency commodity distributions through the federal TEFAP/“TFAP” program. Griffin said the emergency food assistance (TEFAP) stream was down about 40 percent and that “when you lose 1,300,000 pounds of food or dollars, you have to cut back on how you serve those you’re trying to serve.”

Why it matters: Committee members said the county and municipalities should be aware of rising needs and of gaps left by federal program shortfalls. Officials discussed working with local farmers and county programs to replace some lost federal purchasing and to target aid to households facing transportation or timing barriers when getting food.

Griffin described the food bank’s partner model: Action Pathways supplies food to roughly 180 partner agencies across the region, and those agencies run local pantries and distributions. He emphasized consistency of distribution hours and locations as essential because many residents, including single parents working multiple jobs, face transportation and scheduling barriers.

Committee members asked about local distribution sites, registration and how families are referred. Griffin said schools and partner agencies typically provide client lists or referral numbers for programs such as summer feeding and that recipients are usually connected through partner agencies rather than signing up directly with the food bank. He directed listeners to Action Pathways’ website (actionpathways.org) and the food‑bank site (humbercantwait.org as stated in the meeting) for agency lists and hours.

Members of the committee also noted county efforts to bolster farm‑to‑food‑bank purchasing. One county official said the board had recently moved a $1,000,000 agricultural business policy (described in the meeting as designed to support local farmers and connect local purchasing to food banks) and mentioned a separate county grant program offering up to $50,000 for farmers to help bridge such gaps.

The liaison committee thanked Griffin and asked staff to continue coordination between county programs, local farmers and the food‑bank network.