As the federal government continues to enact and consider budget cuts, organizations and programs that have depended on federal funds are now looking for ways to sustain their assistance in the wake of decreased funding. Among those entities is Food Bank for the Heartland which is designed to assist in the health and nutrition needs of families and individuals. The organization has worked with more than 500 network partners including pantries, schools, churches, emergency shelters, and other non-profit organizations to supply emergency and supplemental food to children, families, seniors, and veterans in need. The Food Bank for the Heartland mobile food pantry has made several visits to local communities such as Broken Bow and Mason City. Tim Williams, government affairs and advocacy officer for Food Bank for the Heartland, was a recent guest on KCNI’s Public Affairs and shared what the organization strives to accomplish across the state.
“Yeah so, we are improving for the Heartland. We do a lot of work across our 77 counties in Nebraska. We do a lot of direct food and work with our network partners across the state in order to connect thousands of Nebraskans who really need food at a moment of crisis. We do that through a variety of ways including our backpack program, our mobile distribution program and really connecting and working with our bread and butter which is our network partners which are our pantries across the Heartland to make sure that they are meeting the needs within their own communities. We are building programs and sustainable solutions in order to really connect their local communities to food benefits.”
Williams said the organization has already felt the impact of changes in federal funding.
“For instance, over the spring and into the summer we saw some rollbacks in funding regarding some USDA funding that really helped us provide products across the entire Heartland. This is within a line called CCC or Credit Commodity Corporation funding. That sort of rollback was really needed and was a valuable product that was going to be distributed across the Heartland to our neighbors. When I say rollbacks and funding, I talk about food that was on our calendars and schedules that was then cancelled.”
While the avenues of funding may change, Williams said Food Bank for the Heartland’s mission will not.
“Food costs are high which means resources are lower than they were before, but that doesn’t change or shift our mission in order to do everything we can to connect every Nebraskan to food that they need in a time of crisis. And so, we put together a sort of comprehensive food sourcing plan that allows us to really hone in on various ways we bring food into the food bank and then distribute it across our network. This includes in how we are focusing on purchasing food, how we’re working with donors and bringing donated product in, as well as how we work with our federal delegation in making sure that there are tangible government resources in order to supplement that need.”
When asked how one can help in fulfilling the organization’s needs, Williams directs people to their website, www.foodbankheartland.org, which is a “great resource” that can get one connected to many things including a financial or food donation to the food bank.
Listen to our full interview with Tim Williams
