April 9, 2025

By Keith Benman
Contributing Writer

Cuts, halts and pauses in federal food programs have faith-based North Country food pantries bracing for the worst and hoping for the best.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Elaine LaPage, food pantry manager at St. Peter’s Outreach in Massena. “But you never know what’s going to happen. That’s just the way it is. We have to trust everything will work out for the best.”

A good portion of the food St. Peter’s Outreach and other food pantries distribute comes in by truck from the warehouses of regional food banks. The supplier for St. Peter’s Outreach is the Food Bank of Central New York in Syracuse.

Local food pantries like the one operated by St. Peter’s Parish learned what cuts in federal funding could mean in a conference call with the Food Bank of Central New York in late March.

The Syracuse-based food pantry will suffer about a 29 percent cut in food supplied by the United States Department of Agriculture. That’s because the USDA, at least for now, has ended shipments of “bonus” foods under an add-on to its emergency food assistance program, according to Brian McManus, Food Bank of Central New York chief operations officer. Last year, the USDA
shipped $943 million in bonusfoods to food
banks and other agencies nationwide,
according to USDA’s web site.

The halt in funding has come about under the Trump Administration’s drive to cut the size and cost of the federal government.

“It’s a setback for sure,” said McManus.

In addition to the halt in the bonus foods program, a second USDA program where local farmers grow food for local food programs has been cut. But food banks are hopeful that funding will be replaced by state government, McManus said.

Food banks can still rely on the USDA’s Congressional-authorized basic emergency food assistance program. Those shipments nationwide totalled $461.5 million last year.

St. Peter’s Outreach is one of more than a dozen faith-based food banks within the footprint of the Diocese of Ogdensburg served by the Food Bank of Central New York. McManus said faith-based agencies are critical to food distribution. In part, that is due to their ability to muster volunteers able to sort, store and get the food out the door to their “neighbors in need.”

In addition to the food from the Food Bank of Central New York, St. Peter’s Outreach food programs are also stocked by local donations from businesses and parishioners.

Its emergency food assistance program supplies five-day meal packages to more than 300 families a month. Its pantry is staffed by about 20 volunteers and operates Monday through Friday. Once-a-month, food distributions aid around 150 families more. And 400 families get food aid through the annual Christmas food box program.

On the conference call, Food Bank of Central New York officials told food pantries they hope donated foods and wholesale purchases can make up for the expected shortfall. “It’s our job … to see those agencies stay supplied and get whatever other support they need,” McManus said.

So far, that’s the case. On a Friday, just two days after their conference call with the food bank, LaPage and five other volunteers were busy getting emergency food assistance out the door at St. Peter’s Outreach.

During the food pantry’s first open hour, 11 calls had come in for emergency food assistance. Volunteers were boxing up canned and frozen vegetables, cereal, bread, frozen meats and other food supplies. Each family gets the fixings for five days of meals.

“We hope to still be able to serve them, and still provide them with what they need, with our increase in visits, that’s always a concern,” said LaPage. “But we’re hopeful that everything is going to work out well.”

LaPage and St. Peter’s Outreach program manager Alice Felix both say they were reassured they will be able to serve families in need during the March conference call. LaPage said the motivation for her and other volunteers at faith-based food pantries is simple.

“This is what God calls us to do, is to serve one another,” she said.

St. Peter’s Outreach food pantry can be utilized by anyone living within the boundaries of the Massena School District or St. Peter’s parish. The once-a-month Saturday food distributions are open to anyone in St. Lawrence County.