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Emergency Food Network warns SNAP cuts would shift hunger burden to local food banks
Summary
Emergency Food Network Deputy Director Liana Olds told TV Tacoma that a recently approved House bill cutting federal food supports would force local food banks to cover gaps and threatens senior and household food access; EFN is mobilizing volunteers, food drives and a goal to secure 20 million pounds of food in 2025.
Liana Olds, deputy director of Emergency Food Network, said a House bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives would sharply reduce federal support for food programs and shift administrative costs to states, increasing pressure on food banks and pantries.
The change "is going to dramatically affect the way that SNAP is administered across all of the states," Olds said. She told TV Tacoma the bill would leave Washington state responsible for administrative costs that previously were shared with the federal government, a shortfall she said the state does not have the funds to cover.
Olds said the cuts extend beyond SNAP to other programs that serve vulnerable people, including a community supplemental food program that supplied weekly food boxes to about 300 seniors served by EFN. "That is already, we know, gone," she said, and added that a proposed federal replacement called a "Make America Healthy" box had not been piloted or described in detail.
EFN representatives said they cannot replace SNAP but are preparing to scale local operations. "We are not built to take the place of SNAP," Olds said. The organization plans to prioritize buying food, repacking to maximize meals, expand volunteer recruitment and host more food drives. EFN has set an organizational target to secure 20,000,000 pounds of food in 2025 to meet rising demand.
Olds described what she called rising need even before any federal cuts take effect: EFN and partners are projecting they will serve roughly 310,000 people this year and already have seen increased visits to pantries. "When SNAP is cut ... they see a flood of people hitting into the pantry," she said.
Olds urged viewers to contact elected officials while legislation remains in the Senate and to support local food drives and volunteer shifts. She also directed people to EFN's website for advocacy updates and volunteer information.
The conversation on TV Tacoma included several concrete steps EFN is requesting from the community: host or run food drives, volunteer for repack days at EFN's Lakewood warehouse, join mailing lists for advocacy updates and consider in-kind or financial donations to sustain pantry shelves through the summer.
For more information and volunteer sign-ups, Olds recommended visiting efoodnet.org/news and EFN’s volunteer pages.
