Salem-area pantries will have less meat, dairy following Trump administration food bank cuts

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Each week, a semi truck pulls up to the loading dock at Marion Polk Food Share to deliver tons of meat, dairy, eggs and produce.

The food comes from federal programs that buy surplus from farmers across the U.S. and distribute it to food banks to hand out to people in need.

But after recent Trump administration cuts to emergency food programs, those deliveries will be cut in half, said Rick Gaupo, the food share’s CEO.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture abruptly halted about $500 million of planned food bank deliveries as the administration has moved to rapidly slash government spending and programs.

It means about a million pounds less of food will go out to Salem-area families this year — about 10% of the total that the food share supplies to local pantries.

“They’re just literally going to get less food,” Gaupo said. “We are going to be making it harder for families to manage their life right now.”

The food share gets most of its food locally through a mix of donations from individuals, businesses and farms, as well as purchasing. It’s able to do so in part because the Willamette Valley is rich in agriculture.

But the federal programs supply high-quality, in-demand items that are difficult to source elsewhere: fresh meat and dairy products that form the backbone of meals. They’re the items the food share can’t rely on donation drives to provide.

“It is going to impact what people most want,” Gaupo said.

The cuts come as local food pantry use has soared in recent years. Pantries supplied by the food share feed about 18,000 Salem-area families per month.

Families juggling rising grocery prices, high rent and other expenses don’t have much flexibility in paying monthly bills. Food banks are one of the most accessible ways to make things stretch, Gaupo said.

“They’re going to have just a little less support from their food bank experience and it’s going to put more strain on all other parts of their life,” Gaupo said. “This will be making it harder for local families to stay in their homes, to afford groceries, to afford the expenses that come up in daily life.”

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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