Pending federal Farm Bill could bring relief to local food banks and hungry families, but, in the meantime they need your help.

Hungry Texans needing food assistance would benefit greatly from a 2007 Farm Bill that will be debated on the Senate floor this coming week. The proposed legislation would boost dwindling inventories at privately-funded food banks while providing $4.3 billion in new investments in federal nutrition programs that serve more than 30 million Americans.

The debate in Congress over a Farm Bill underscores the importance and power of private charity and taxpayer dollars working together. In this instance, private and public dollars create America’s social safety net for the millions of neighbors who struggle to afford basic necessities such as food.

Timing is critical. Food banks and their clients throughout the nation and Texas---including Tarrant Area Food Bank---are feeling the effects now of decreased federal food donations from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As the cost of food increases, so must the level of funding for TEFAP, which would be done through the pending Farm Bill.

TEFAP provides Tarrant Area Food Bank some of the most nutritious, and therefore popular, products— poultry, beans, rice, fruits and vegetables—that the Food Bank is then able to distribute to low-income people in need throughout our 13 county service area. Unfortunately, since 2001, the TEFAP commodities provided to the Food Bank have declined 47 percent.

This decline has forced many of Tarrant Area Food Bank’s 300 partner hunger-relief charities—pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, Kids Cafes and other feeding programs—to purchase food in the retail marketplace, meaning that some of those charities have had to reduce the amount of food they can provide to hungry families seeking assistance. Fortunately, the increased funding for TEFAP proposed by the Senate committee would eventually boost the amount of food available to hunger-relief programs.

The proposed Senate Farm Bill would also strengthen the Food Stamp Program by expanding eligibility. For instance, the bill allows low-income families to have more in savings accounts without becoming ineligible and indexes the asset limit to inflation. The bill also excludes the combat pay bonuses paid to members of the U.S. military serving in Iraq from being counted in determining food stamp eligibility.

Finally, the current decline in federal assistance intersects with increasing costs for food, transportation and energy that force ever more families to seek help. Tarrant Area Food Bank and our partner charities need to be able to respond to increased need locally; otherwise, thousands will suffer the consequences. We can respond, but not without everyone’s help.

That help can be through food, funds or friends. For food, host a canned food drive at your church, school or workplace. Raise funds with special events at work, church, school or club meetings, or make an individual donation, to help us and our partner hunger-relief agencies purchase needed foods in short supply. Finally, bring your friends to Tarrant Area Food Bank or one of our partners located near you to volunteer sorting and packing food donations.

Together, with private donations and government nutrition programs, we can and will provide enough food to feed our
hungry neighbors.