Every month, practically 400 households stroll via the doorways of The Dorit & Ben J. Genet Cabinet, a Goodman Jewish Household Providers meals pantry. Some arrive for the primary time, whereas others return with quiet gratitude, however all of them come as a result of they need to. One other 400 households — a lot of them homebound seniors or Holocaust survivors — obtain deliveries on to their properties, guaranteeing they, too, don’t go with out. Groceries price extra, paychecks stretch much less, and now, the federal government help that after helped maintain meals on their tables is slipping away.
The tales are heartbreaking: Working dad and mom skipping meals so their youngsters can eat, Holocaust survivors and seniors selecting between prescriptions and groceries, veterans uncertain the place their subsequent meal will come from. These aren’t strangers. They’re our neighbors. They’re our household. They attend our colleges and homes of worship. They’ve given again to our group in numerous methods, they usually deserve our help.
Throughout the nation, meals banks are ringing alarm bells. Feeding America warns that $500 million in USDA meals distribution cuts are straining an already overwhelmed system. In South Florida alone, practically 2 million people might be affected by latest USDA funding suspensions, based on Feeding South Florida. And in March 2024, the ultimate federal funds invoice slashed $8 million from the Older People Act Vitamin Program, which helps Meals on Wheels.
Right here in Broward County, we’re feeling the ripple results. Goodman Jewish Household Providers has seen a dramatic discount in help from The Emergency Meals Help Program (TEFAP), dropping from sufficient meals to serve 800 households every month to only 250. These cuts have compelled us to pause meals distributions with a number of municipal companions and restrict the variety of households we are able to serve. With further cuts to SNAP and Medicaid looming, the necessity amongst native households and seniors is rising extra pressing by the day.
This isn’t a time for cuts. It’s a time for compassion. The mix of inflation, housing prices and the lingering results of the pandemic have already strained households to the restrict. Now, federal cuts danger weakening the whole human companies security web — threatening not solely meals safety, but additionally staffing, case administration and general organizational stability.
However there’s something we are able to all do.
Assist your native meals pantry. With federal funding shrinking, particular person donations are not simply useful — they’re important. A single reward can imply the distinction between an empty shelf and a meal for a struggling senior, baby or veteran. For those who’re ready to offer, please don’t wait. Arrange a recurring donation to assist present year-round stability. You can even volunteer your time — serving to to kind, pack or distribute meals is a hands-on solution to make a right away influence.
Rethink giving as a enterprise technique. For those who’re a enterprise proprietor or decision-maker, contemplate philanthropy a strategic funding within the well-being of your group. Construct giving into your marketing strategy. Sponsor a meals drive, companion with a nonprofit for a cause-related marketing campaign, or match worker donations. With federal help faltering, your position has by no means been extra essential. With out collective help, lots of the companies we depend on might not survive.
Whereas we acknowledge that companies immediately are inundated with requests from worthy causes, contemplate setting a transparent annual giving technique — one which aligns together with your firm’s values and means that you can help impactful efforts constantly.
Increase your voice. Contact your elected officers and urge them to revive funding for applications like TEFAP, SNAP and the Older People Act. Share these issues in conversations with your loved ones, on social media, and inside your office. Each voice issues.
Because the president and CEO of a human-services group, I’ve seen firsthand how fragile the protection web may be — and the way highly effective group motion is in stitching it again collectively. Once we present up for each other, we reinforce the very cloth of who we’re.
We can not afford to let our neighbors go hungry. Not now. Not ever.
Randy Colman is president and CEO of Goodman Jewish Household Providers in Davie.