BILLINGS - Montana food bank leaders say they'll have a harder time feeding the hungry in their communities after the USDA announced Sept. 20 that it is discontinuing future Household Food Security Reports.
The Economic Research Service (ERS) conducts the reports annually, analyzing where and how much food insecurity people are experiencing around the country for the past 30 years.
Watch to see why food bank workers are worried:
“For 30 years, this study — initially created by the Clinton administration as a means to support the increase of SNAP eligibility and benefit allotments — failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder,” the Trump administration's USDA wrote in an unsigned written statement on its website.
Montana Food Bank Network (MFBN) President and CEO Gayle Carlson said she uses the reports to justify funding for the network and learn how much and where the state struggles with food insecurity.
“The irony of all of this is, any time you write a proposal for funding for any federal grants at all, state or federal, as far as that goes, it’s all very data-driven. They want to know the statistics on the needs in your community. So, for them to eliminate that resource for us makes it even harder for us to demonstrate in our proposals for funding the needs that we have,” said Carlson.
Carlson said the network may start conducting studies on its own, but gathering the data could be expensive.
“This report that the USDA did was conducted by, you know, highly qualified researchers. And not every nonprofit has access to that. So, it's going to be a challenge for us to do that,” said Carlson.
The director of Community Hope in Laurel, Lisa Foreman, is worried the decision from the USDA will limit MFBN’s ability to support her community.
She estimated Community Hope serves 4,500 families every year.
“Montana Food Bank Network goes out and purchases a lot of things and then if they get it for like, say, 50 cents a can, then they pass that on to us so that we get to purchase it for that. If they don't have the money to purchase that, then it's not available for us. It's just a trickle-down effect,” she said.
Billings Family Service Executive Director Ryan Cremer also expressed concern.
“This data is critical in understanding not only the needs of our clients, but the lives of our neighbors across the state. We urge the USDA to consider reinstating the annual household food security report,” he told MTN in a written statement.
