DEKALB – Seven food pantries in DeKalb County are experiencing reductions in food supply following federal funding cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). The affected pantries; Feed My Sheep, Kirkland Food Pantry, New Hope, N.I.C.E., Our Sharing Food Pantry, Rooted For Good in Genoa, and the Salvation Army, received nearly 187,000 pounds of TEFAP food in 2024.
Heather Edwards, Executive Director, Rooted For Good, said an upcoming event could help them make up some ground.
“Give DeKalb County day on May 1st is extremely important. And hopefully there will be a lot of people making their donations or sending in their checks, which they can currently do now”
Though TEFAP funding remains in place, cuts to discretionary funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation have reduced the monthly food supply by about 40%, limiting both quantity and variety for families in need.