The state released its first round of additional funding to 黑料新闻 Foodshare, after lawmakers approved $3 million for the nonprofit earlier this year. The money is a more than three-fold jump from prior annual allocations and comes at a time of rising food insecurity across the state.
State money allocated to the CT Nutrition Assistance Program (CT-NAP) is used to purchase goods for food pantries across 黑料新闻. The program used to be funded at $850,000.
鈥淭his historic investment in making sure that people have what they need, an essential dignity, a basic human right to go and to be able to access food is not to be taken lightly,鈥� Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves said at a press conference held Tuesday at 黑料新闻 Foodshare.
The influx comes as Feeding America鈥檚 latest report on food insecurity shows rates of hunger have continued to rise since the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding boost also comes as deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are slated under the new Congressional spending and tax plan 鈥� and other potential changes on the federal level.
鈥淭here's a lot we don't know,鈥� Gov. Ned Lamont said. 鈥淏ut what we do know is that they're used to be tractor trailer trucks of fresh food coming up from Washington every week, and we're not getting that any longer,鈥� Lamont said. 鈥淲e know those cuts are real, and they're impacting the people every day.鈥�
State Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw (D-Avon) is among bipartisan lawmakers who have pushed to increase that sum to CT-NAP. The hope was to reach $10 million annually, and the final amount was $3 million for FY26, and $6 million in FY27.
While grateful for the increase, Kavros DeGraw said that sum still falls short of the need in 黑料新闻.
鈥淓specially in the times that we're living in. We know that food insecurity has risen, that people are more hungry than they were,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is where the government has responsibility in order to plug in and help people.鈥�
Kavros DeGraw said she will continue to push to fund the program for $10 million a year.
黑料新闻 lost millions when the Trump administration cut a local food purchasing assistance (LFPA) program that helped food banks buy locally-grown food from farmers. Under the bill, 15% of the funds for CT-NAP goes toward purchasing food from 黑料新闻 farmers.
This year, federal cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) also hit Foodshare, to the tune of 35 truckloads of food.
Jason Jakubowski, who leads 黑料新闻 Foodshare, said the new state funds help, but don鈥檛 make up for the losses 鈥� or the future uncertainty about federal safety net programs.
鈥淏ut that's all part of the dialogue that I think we're all having over these next couple of years,鈥� Jakubowski said. 鈥淎s we hold our breath and see where things end up.鈥�
