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Mid‑South Food Bank warns USDA cuts will shrink food supply, asks Shelby County to help cover shortfall
Summary
Mid‑South Food Bank leaders told the subcommittee USDA program reductions and commodity funding changes are creating an immediate shortfall in purchased and donated food; the organization asked Shelby County to consider funding to preserve mobile pantry distribution and service levels.
Scott Forden, president and CEO of Mid‑South Food Bank, and Reginald Alexander, director of government and community relations, told the Shelby County Budget & Finance Subcommittee the food bank faces an immediate reduction in commodity support and purchases after recent USDA program changes.
Alexander summarized the bank's regional footprint (31 counties across Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas) and said that in 2024 the organization distributed tens of millions of pounds of food across its service area and served hundreds of thousands of households. He said Shelby County accounts for a large share of need in the Tennessee service area and that nearly 70% of the region's food‑insecure residents live in Shelby County.
Forden described federal program cuts earlier in 2025 and the role of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and TEFAP (the Emergency Food Assistance Program) in national commodity distribution. He said those changes are estimated to reduce pounds available to the Mid‑South Food Bank and its partners and quantified an expected reduction and budgetary impact. "The impact of these program cuts on the Mid‑South Food Bank service area is estimated to reduce food pounds by 2,200,000 pounds valued at $4,800,000," Forden said.
Forden and Alexander said the bank has already begun scaling back operations, including staff reductions (they reported a drop of about 14 positions from its COVID staffing peak) and other cost‑saving measures. They asked Shelby County to consider funding to offset the shortfall, protect mobile pantry distributions and sustain service levels to about 393,000 households the bank currently serves through local programs. The presenters said they are making similar requests across their 31‑county service area.
Commissioners asked follow‑up questions about reliance on volunteers, partner agency lists and whether the request would also be made to cities across the service area; presenters agreed to provide a partner list and confirmed the request is regional in scope. The subcommittee did not take a vote; the request was entered into the record for further consideration.
