Food pantry network across the Midwest abruptly shuts down

It's bleak, but true. I talk to the food pantry guy who collects the donated food from my Walmart and he said they lost a TON of money when they slashed federal funding. Had to even cancel pickup days because they're so crunched now. We have to hold upwards of 3 days worth of donations waiting for a collection now. It's grim.

I work at a nonprofit and we're having to shutter programs due to the lack of funds. I'm sure this is across the board for every area of need, especially in states that couldn't fund more grants.

That is to be expected when trump and doge gutted pretty much every fund and agency that kept things like this afloat and having millions of pounds of food rot because they canceled contracts with the places that food was set to be delivered to

And where were the churches in these areas to help this organization?

The issue is thousands of people are turning to food banks everyday and food costs are rising. It's just not sustainable because trump also cut 100% of the funding for these grants that support these people

A couple of months ago I started a recurring monthly donation to the local food bank because I could see the writing on the wall. I've had to cut back on a few things to save my budget but that payment will be one of the last things to go.

Imagine if we used all the money from the Iran war on food and shelter for the most unfortunate in our society...

I volunteer regularly at a food share. In the last few weeks we've had significant shortages. And in a few months, one of the biggest grants runs out. They feed over a thousand people a week.

The hungry and poor will be ground up to feed the ultra wealthy.

I want to emphasize this. We lost everything and the food bank is the only way we were able to feed our family for a couple of months. Those people would be out there in the freezing cold, directing traffic with smiles on their faces. It meant the world to me that I could give my children fresh foods each week. Theyre absolute saints.

Further, a large amount of the volunteers are people in the same situation as the people they are serving. So that feeling of acceptance is usually because it isn't people helping people below themselves, but helping their peers. Many times volunteers start by going and then helping out. Being there at unloading times and to sort things definitely helps to also get your own load of things you might especially need as well. This obviously depends on the site itself and their rules.

We used the pantries when my husband and I both lost our jobs and then he went back to school for two years to get a better job. We were a family of four on one income for those two years and I made just enough to not qualify for foodstamps. I remember the foodbank nearest us allowed us to visit once a month and every time after I went I felt this immense weight off my shoulders for a little bit. There was always some kind of cookies or cake and sometimes a name brand thing I could give my kids and I felt like things could be normal for a bit. I used everything up that I could. Foodbank days were processing days for me. How could I use up this gallon of milk that would expire the next day or the fruit that was 2 days away from molding? Foodbanks are life savers

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Couldn't have said this better myself. Food banks have been the only thing sustaining my groceries the last couple of years, as in I really, \*really\* do not know what the hell I would have done if these services weren't available.

>It’s hard to properly illustrate the good that these panties do. Great comment, but I totally got derailed by your type-o.

Thank you for sharing that. I've been on the receiving end before and was just thankful to get a couple full bags of veggies and some pieces of food by someone who kind of jedi mind tricked me into attending one of these when I didn't realize I was telegraphing that I was on hard times and made it sound really normal and without judgement and I'm super thankful for that. I help out at a food bank/pantry now and just treat it like a job at a grocery store and the people there as my customers, absolutely no judgement, I'm there to treat them like they're at Whole Foods and share my recipes with them and pop open the eggs and see if the dozen looks ok and ask what kind of cheese they'd like to have if we have different one. The point is kind of like some sort of normalcy and being helpful without being condescending. We have a room for their kids to do little activities while they do their shopping and it's so nice to see them get excited to come back and say hi and share their little kid things. There was this little girl that got in her head that she wanted to play Santa Claus and I loaded up a couple bags of groceries into her mom's car and she just waved and said bye to me and I waved back and said "Bye Santa Claus" and she just wiggled around and it made her so happy it just melted my heart. She was not Santa Claus this week, but she seemed just as happy as was her mom. I'm just there for few hours a couple times a month, it's not that much of a commitment but it's just fun and I get to meet some really nice people and selfishly it really reminds me that most people are alright and a lot of people can probably do something to help out a local thing. It really often doesn't take a whole lot. If anybody reading this is at all thinking about it, just google your local volunteer organization and just show up, even if it's for like an hour. You might actually enjoy it, it's weird.

So true

It's all because of Clinton's emails - dumbfuck Republicans probably. 

>Precursor to bigger problem to come? Absolutely. 25-30% of the world’s fertilizer has to come through the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with skyrocketing fuel and transportation prices. The coming inflation and impact to global food supply is going to be nothing short of a disaster.

Got money for war but can't feed the poor

“We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of daycare. You got to let a state take care of daycare, and they should pay for it too. They should pay. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal. We have to take care of one thing: military protection."

Correct. Every social program will be cut to feed the rich, while the poor starve and die. That's a Trump guarantee.

No, the economy is so good and so many Trump voters are doing so well in Midwest that the food bank didn't need anymore help! /s

Rich people make money off war. They don't make it off feeding the poor.

System of a Down wrote songs about this situation…

What is the action to take?

I used to write for a newspaper in small town Minnesota (pop. 14k) and covered Ruby's Pantry when they finally added a location in our town during COVID. Everyone was so excited, a lot of my coworkers had second jobs to support their families, and Ruby's Pantry was really a godsend for them, allowing them to not have to spend all their money on food alone. Yes, these are people working full-time jobs with a second part-time job in an area where the cost of living is 15% below the national average. I had no idea. I was struggling too, I had to borrow a coworker's car one day because mine was in the shop and it was food shelf day, and I felt so embarrassed and alone... I was making $50 too much to qualify for any food benefits. But when Ruby's Pantry came, I realized there's A LOT more people than we realize around us who are barely making it. When I went to cover Ruby's Pantry, which was held in a church, they had people waiting in the sanctuary, and it was full. And like people have been saying in this thread, the people that worked there were very kind and helpful, and EXCITED about doing this work. I wrote stories about the food shelf as well, and a few other "shelves" in town, but Ruby's really had different energy.

Regardless of the general economic state of the country, there are ALWAYS people who can't afford food for one reason or another.

This was the pantry in the town I go to uni in- the community still hasn't got a clear answer why they closed. The town has a pretty substantial poverty rate, and we're scrambling to find some alternative for folks.

I resd the title and was saying to myself "please don't be ruby's." My extended family on both sides use them from time to time, and volunteer with them. What a bummer.

> As part of this process, we have worked to better align community needs with our goal of operating in the most effective and seamless way possible. As a result, we have decided to end the operations of Ruby's Pantry effective immediately How is ending operations the most effective way to serve the community...?

The obtuse ducks don’t seem to get that one of the main functions of government is to fund the unprofitable things that are in the public’s interest… like infectious disease research. Some things should never be for profit due to conflicts of interest. Having the post and food aid unprofitable means the customer, us, is receiving a d*******. That doesn’t prevent us from auditing budget for waste and such oversight exists. Being in a culture that celebrates ignorance is exhausting.

They're very profitable for some. That's what matters.

They're only "unprofitable" because the Republicans forced them to fund a pension program that's outrageous. Something no other program or branch has to do. It's by design.

The only way people will be bothered to get off TikTok and f****** do something like revolt is if they are hungry or desperate. We are far too comfortable still.  I don’t donate to food pantries because of this. I donate to ACLU and the likes instead.  It’s sad and hard but not enough people are suffering quite yet for the second American revolution to begin. 

honestly I make over 100k post tax and even I'm considering moving to China or somewhere else. The writing is on the wall. I don't necessarily think the US will have a revolution this year, but I wouldn't bet against it happening in my life time

People don't starve to death quietly. If it comes to that, there will be violence.

Richest country really meant nothing given how fine it was ignoring the people who were already starving and homeless up to now, but it's going to be a concerning year to be sure, possibly more than any other in our generation. Rising gas prices are one thing, but rising food costs and decreasing food availability is how you really end up with violence.

Na large numbers will see hunger the only deaths will be in Red States that will be years from now and all due to a lack of accessible care.

We deserve it.

We just did, hope you were there

Not will, are.

I believe he actually said exactly these words

I mean, providing food for people without enough money for food is not a money making program.

yeah no shit, they give free food. Not everything needs to make money

Sorry if this was meant to be a “/s” moment, but are you insinuating something about an organization of this nature needing to be profit driven or…? 

Sound it out now. Chair-it-ee.

They won't. They're in a cult. They will continue to double down, blame their enemies, and support their leader even harder. The more they double down, the tighter the psychological leash gets. Classic cognitive dissonance. This is why so many people in Jonestown ended up giving their kids the poisoned kool aid, and then drinking it themselves.

I honestly think the rural states would legitimately rather die at this point.

It's the windmills

>These areas voted for this. Perhaps if you lived in the United States you'd understand that there is not one, not even one state where 100% of the voters are Republicans. Not one. There's millions of Dem voters in "red" states.

People who are relying on food pantries most likely do not have the time or means to vote 

If you don’t live in America, maybe you should stfu about something you know nothing of?

I have; they wont even email back anymore, democrats included.