$250K Food Order For Chester Co. Food Bank Canceled By Feds

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Amid ongoing federal funding cuts to critical programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled a $250,000 food order for the Chester County Food Bank, the organization announced Tuesday.

The Food Bank, which feeds tens of thousands of hungry and starving individuals around the greater Philadelphia area, will have to spend significantly more than $250,000 to purchase the same amount of food at retail cost, they said.

Officials say that the preexisting level of support was barely enough to keep the organization, and the people who rely on it, afloat.

“The cancellation of these orders are going to have a significant impact on our operations, and they couldn’t come at a worse time” Food Bank CEO Andrea Youndt said in a statement. "We are currently experiencing a cost of living crisis in Chester County and southeastern Pennsylvania. We need more support now, not less.”

Around 40,000 Chester County residents rely on the Food Bank for sustenance. If the USDA cancels the orders intended for the Food Bank for the rest of the year, the loss will be $1 million in food, and the cost to replace that food will be much more.

Pennsylvania has filed an appeal over the Trump administration's cuts to related programs, including the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which funds the Chester County Food Bank and similar organizations. Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Reading has called the elimination of funding illegal, as the sudden nature of the cuts allows organizations no time to find alternate funding sources — if any even exist.

Related: Feds Cut $1B In Food Aid, Impacting PA Farmers, Food Banks

“Supplier and buyer contracts are sealed months in advance," Reading said. "Whether you’re a farm or a food bank, you plan your operations based on what you have to spend."

It comes just a week after the Food Bank lost some $145,000 in funding from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program (LFPA), which supports local farmers by connecting them with food banks.

Youndt said the best way to help was for residents to contact federal lawmakers to express their disapproval of the move.