The budget, recently signed by the governor, includes $9 million in purchasing funds for the state’s food banks, a 50% increase over the state’s previous spending plan.
Amy Beros, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, said food banks had to rely heavily on private support, as federal aid dropped dramatically and state funds froze during the budget impasse. Beros explained a holding pattern has larger, economywide effects.
“We’re putting the farmers that we were purchasing food (from) actually in need of services like the food bank in some cases because of these changes,” Beros pointed out. “It’s really about the health of our overall community and our economy.”
According to the Global FoodBanking Network, food banks deliver a strong return on investment for communities. Every dollar given to food banks generates between $4 and $7 in long-term social benefits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture ended more than $30 million in pandemic-era funding intended to allow North Carolina schools and food banks to buy directly from local farmers and producers.
Beros noted the increased state funding for hunger relief sites will be consequential in getting the best and healthiest food possible to North Carolinians.
“Everyone’s seeing their costs go up, and it’s harder to purchase the most healthy foods,” Beros observed. “This is going to help us be able to continue to purchase those foods as costs increase, put that on the tables of neighbors.”
Across the country, food insecurity is at one of its highest points in two decades. More than 1.6 million people across North Carolina are food insecure.