St. Luke鈥檚 Episcopal Church in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood distributes fresh produce through the Greater Cleveland Food Bank鈥檚 Mobile Pantry Program, which served more than 4,000 families last year.
Vidorian Massingale, affectionately known as Chef Vi, is the executive chef for the church鈥檚 mobile pantry. Before this job, she was working in food service in schools, but wanted a career that could help people more directly.
鈥淚 love working here,鈥� Massingale said. 鈥淓verybody is just so interesting. You never really know what people are really going through until you talk to them.鈥�
Food insecurity in Cleveland
Food insecurity 鈥� the inability to get nutritious foods to meet one鈥檚 needs 鈥� is an issue in many Cleveland neighborhoods. According to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, one in seven people in the food bank鈥檚 service area . Nearly a quarter of Cleveland鈥檚 children are food insecure.
Food insecurity is a symptom of economic hardship, and its effects reach far beyond just hunger pains, said , assistant professor of nutrition at Case Western Reserve University.
鈥淔ood insecurity is a big deal because there is a cycle of hunger and poverty,鈥� Prescott said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a big physical and mental health issue. Food insecurity exacerbates stress. People who live a life of chronic stress are at higher risk of disease.鈥�
Federal cuts
However, programs like St. Luke鈥檚 mobile pantry are at risk.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers. The USDA also cut nearly $500 million specifically intended to help food banks through its Emergency Food Assistance program.
Joree Novotny is the executive director at the . She said state and federal support provide about half of the supply that food banks across Ohio distribute to families in need.
鈥淲ithout those investments in our nation鈥檚 first line of defense against hunger, we would see devastating ripple effects at the food bank level,鈥� Novotny said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the food supply in our network to replace that purchasing power that 1.5 million Ohioans currently have at the grocery store.鈥�
Additionally, the 2025 federal budget bill slashes more than $100 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps.
Many, including Novotny, are calling on the federal government for changes.
鈥淲hat we really need is for Congress to pass a strong bipartisan farm bill,鈥� Novotny said. 鈥淸With that bill], we can get some predictability and consistency in what food will be coming into our warehouses for us to supply out to respond to the hunger our communities are facing."
Right now, local food banks such as St. Luke鈥檚 aren鈥檛 seeing the full effects of the cuts yet. They鈥檝e reported a few weeks with shorter supply, but not enough to stop the program. But Massingale said even when the effects come into play, the pantry is prepared for whatever comes.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just gonna go with the flow like we always do,鈥� Massingale said. 鈥淚f we start getting less food or, for some reason, if it gets cut, then we鈥檒l work with the best of our ability. We鈥檒l start working with other churches or ask for grants or donations, so we can keep this going. It's not gonna stop.鈥�
