Since the presidential inauguration, confusion has swirled around how much funding the Trump Administration would trim from food bank budgets across the country. The Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC) now knows that – at a minimum – more than a quarter of a million dollars they used to have to purchase nutritional necessities for food-insecure residents, will be gone.
“Bucks County doesn’t have a traditional food bank, so the opportunity council operates as the lead food agency here in the county, and we provide food through a variety of sources,” explained BCOC Director of Development Joseph Cuozzo. And, that food is “distributed to over 70 pantries that we work with here in the county.”
One of those distribution centers is the Good Measure Pantry at the Bible Evangelical Methodist Church in Bristol – where the line for Friday’s distribution started forming more than an hour before the doors opened. At Good Measure Pantry there is no paperwork to fill out and no identification required. If patrons don’t bring their own bags, the foodbank supplies empty boxes. Within minutes of opening their doors, more than a dozen quiet, polite individuals filled the basement distribution room with a longer line stretching out the door and into the parking lot.
The pantry is free and open to the public. Most of the folks they see on Fridays – a number that Pastor Robert Brown says has been steadily growing – don’t belong to the congregation. Brown says that the reason the line’s getting longer is because the “word’s getting out there that we can help.”
And, Brown adds that so far the donations he receives from the local Wegmans and Giant retail grocers have increased, “In response to God knowing that these cuts were coming.”
Whether or not God had advance knowledge of Trump’s intentions, they still come as a harsh surprise to the agencies losing their funding and the local suppliers that fill pantry shelves with milk and produce. In Bucks County, the cuts have already hacked away about one-third of the $800,000 the federal government had been sending to supplement BCOC programs like Fresh Connect– a free farmers market supplying produce purchased from local farms. When those farmers lose federal funding, the pain ripples further through the county.
The day begins early for volunteers who work at Good Measure Pantry. Delores Wheeler, a retired nurse better known to the food bank staff as “Mother,” has been working with the pantry since it began shortly after Covid struck.
In addition to organizing produce, meats, dry and canned goods, as well as baked goods including pastries, Wheeler also creates sample meals from donated items and delivers them to shut-ins in the community. She posts instructions and pictures of her creations along with each week’s food offerings on the church’s Facebook page.
Reverend Brown and retired Lockheed Martin systems engineer, Luke Titus, shuttle back and forth in their own cars to pick up – not only expiration date pending food donated by the grocery stores – but ample supplies from Philabundance, a nine-county food bank supplier, as well.
Karisa, another of the volunteers, is an overnight CNA who leaves her graveyard shift every Friday to lend a hand. On her way from work, she picks up her four-year-old Kaedan, who is a joyful fixture at the pantry and who the patrons call by name when they enter the room.
Friday’s first in line, Ira Roberts, is 68-years-old and a retired customer service supervisor living on social security. Over the past few years, Roberts’ health has failed. He’s had a heart attack and two strokes. Walking with a cane and carefully navigating the steep steps to the basement doorway, Roberts admits concern over the federal government’s severe cuts to social services.
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Roberts doesn’t receive food or housing assistance – no Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) or rent subsidy – although as a Medicaid recipient he likely qualifies for both. He just hasn’t applied and gets by with the help of the pantry.
Roberts isn’t a member of the Bible Evangelical Methodist Church. He heard about the pantry from a friend. Now he’s their biggest champion. He arrives early because his health issues require that he’s particular about what he eats. He can’t have processed foods with lots of additives and he’s grateful for the limited supply of fresh produce the foodbank provides.
And, Roberts says, he’s glad that the church is there for everybody, “Tell your friends about it – everybody is welcome.”
Most of the dozens of people in line didn’t want to discuss their situation. Some did, but didn’t want to be identified.
One such woman, a pregnant mom with two school-aged children, works full time with people who have developmental disabilities. The young mom receives no government assistance beyond what the Good Measure Pantry provides.
When asked if she was concerned about cuts to public services she replied, “Honestly, I’ve been concerned for years. Not just this administration. I am concerned for people who are on SNAP or social security. I’m concerned about them losing that.”
As for having the social security she’s paying into potentially taken from her, she responded, “We’ll get robbed. But we’ve been getting robbed. I’ve been hopeful for positive change to happen. Instead, it is getting changed in a way that isn’t helpful.”
The anonymous mom sees all forms of government, regardless of the party, working harder for the rich than for folks like her. And she points to the fact that while employed full time, she still must line up beside her food insecure neighbors and wait for free groceries.
When asked what worried her most, she first mentioned her clients with disabilities. “My population is impacted the most. They cannot care for themselves. They need us to do everything. They rely on Medicaid to pay for us.” And when asked if she’s worried about losing her job, “If I lose my clients? Yes, I’ll lose my job.”
READ: US Department of Agriculture Cuts Will Hurt Bucks County Families
At the end of distribution, Pastor Brown and Luke Titus load up the leftover food and drive it three miles up the road to the Little People Day Care. There the staff use the food to not only prepare meals for the children, but they distribute it to parents in need.
And, often more than just the parents.
Facility Director Linda Reilly explained that some of the families tell their neighbors that the church drops off surplus food each Friday afternoon and the population of those they feed swells outside the ranks at the school.
Reilly is grateful for the caring and compassion that Brown and Titus show when they arrive with the food. “People look forward to getting it. It’s helped some families here.” Reilly, who isn’t a member of the church, either, added that it’s what people should do. “People have to care about each other. I think that’s important.”
