GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Workers at local food banks are growing concerned due to what they say is a cut in government funding.
That cut could lead to less food being given to people in need.
Channel 9 reporter Ken Lemon spoke with those workers who said they are bracing for a drop in food at a time when the need is only getting greater.
The Bountiful Blessings Food Bank does not open until 7 a.m. However, there were already people parked, ready to sleep overnight to receive food.
That is how dire the need has become, according to the organization’s Pastor Rodney Freeman.
Freeman said their crowds have grown by almost a third in the past two months. And before they received the warning about the cuts, they saw a surge two weeks ago.
“It’s going to be catastrophic,” Freeman expressed. “Over 100 new clients came to this food pantry who have never ever been to the food pantry before.”
Almost two hours after they opened, Dallas Christian Ministries was already out of most meat.
That’s not good news to residents like Judy Brooks, who happens to be on disability.
“I have to get what I can to make it. I have to eat less. I have to just save what I can just to get by from month to month,” said Brooks.
Mike Fields, the chair of the finance committee for Dallas Christian Ministries, said they received an email from the Second Harvest Food Bank warning about the cuts in produce, dairy, and meat distribution.
“There is a small group of people out there who are just barely hanging on. So any cut anywhere in their lives is a tremendous issue,” said Fields.
He said he thinks the cuts can go as deep as 25%.
“We are just holding on, praying that it’s not going to be too bad,” Fields elaborated.
Organizers at both food pantries are asking clients and supporters to write their local representatives and ask them to reverse the federal cuts as soon as possible.
In the meantime, they are trying to get others to give more.
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