Published On: July 1st, 2025Categories: Policy

Food Insecurity in North Carolina On the Rise

By Susan Romaine |  July 1, 2025

Food is love. Food is community. Food is a human right. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you sit on. It is critical we nourish the need in our community.
– Amy Beros, CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina

Republicans may claim to be rooting out waste and fraud in federal government spending, but their elimination of vital food assistance programs cuts right to the bone.

School districts and food banks across North Carolina are losing $30 million in federal funds used to purchase fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products from nearby farms. Added to that massive loss are deep cuts in The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which distributes federally purchased commodities through food banks, pantries, and other feeding organizations. Then there are the proposed federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP/food stamps), which would impact 1.4 million North Carolinians who rely on the program’s benefits. Children, seniors, and folks with disabilities would be especially hard hit.

Taking a chain saw to federal nutrition programs comes at the worst possible time for North Carolina’s seven food banks and thousands of pantries, soup kitchens, and feeding organizations. The state’s largest food bank, the Raleigh-based Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, reports that a record-high 607,000 people are food insecure in its 34-county service area – a whopping 35% increase since 2023. All of this at a time when the Food Bank of CENC is losing the 30% of its budget coming from federal sources.

Who is driving the spike in the region’s food insecurity? It is no longer the jobless, says Amy Beros, CEO of the Raleigh-based food bank. The lion’s share of visitors to her food bank are now working families. As the costs of housing, health care, childcare, gas and groceries continue to climb, many full-time workers and their families simply cannot stay afloat. “Everything is interconnected,” explains Beros. “There are more and more working families who are just one $400-expense away from visiting a food bank for the first time.”

“Families are not sitting around asking for hand-outs”

Jennifer Morales did the math years ago and discovered that by working full-time and paying for childcare, she would pocket just $350/month more than if she stayed home full-time with her two young children. She put family first. To make up the difference, Morales learned to hone her budgeting skills and found part-time work with flexible hours.

Using coupon apps at grocery stores, Morales says that “every purchase is intentional.” She receives gift cards for participating in medical research projects at nearby colleges and universities. She works a few hours each week with two local nonprofits: the Refugee Community Partnership, as a Spanish language navigator for participants seeking health care; and Kramden Institute Inc., teaching tech literacy to parents in the community. In October, Morales added 15 hours of paid work each week at PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s Community Hub, helping over 700 lower-income families shop for free groceries.

“Some people in this Administration just don’t understand,” explains Morales. “Families are not sitting around asking for hand-outs. That is so far from the truth. Most families are just like me: working hard – very hard – to raise their kids and stay afloat.”

“Community needs to step up”

PORCH’s Executive Director, Erin Riney, hears many stories that are similar to Jennifer’s, stories that speak to the day-to-day struggles of working families visiting the Community Hub. Riney fears the cuts in nutrition assistance programs are at a tipping point:

Over $2 million was cut from our local Feeding America partner, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, and two dozen truckloads of produce were cancelled this spring. We’re already seeing less fresh produce, less meat, fewer nonperishables. We’re bracing for additional cuts at the Food Bank, along with the possibility of deep cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and other safety net programs. Without these federally-funded supports, our participants are relying on the community to step up and fill the void. They have nowhere else to turn.

“Farmers are really worried”

Sadly, it’s not just working families feeling the weight of the cuts in federal food programs. As fewer federal dollars flow to communities – and their family-owned farms, area grocers, and small businesses – there is a ripple effect across the entire local economy.

The Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, for example, uses federal dollars to purchase produce, meat, and dairy products from 86 small, family-owned farms. This fresh food is then distributed to pantries, schools, and other organizations in its 34-county service area.

“I’m already hearing from some of the farmers,” says Beros. “They are worried about losing the Food Bank, which is one of their most reliable customers. In some cases, they made investments in their farms because of the Food Bank. In fact, one family farm is devoted entirely to serving the Food Bank. It relies on us for its very survival.”

Flourishing Acre, a family-run farm in Stokes, NC, illustrates the synergies created in partnership with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. Each week, the Food Bank sorts through thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. Items that are bruised or mushy are then picked up by Flourishing Acre Farm and used to feed their animals. Any surplus scraps are distributed to other farmers in Pitt County to use as feed for their animals. It’s a win-win-win. The Food Bank eliminates the expense of throwing away food waste. The landfills are less filled. Farms get free, nutritious food for their animals.

“Here’s the best part,” says Stephanie Coonradt, co-owner of Flourishing Acre Farm. “We sell some of our meat and eggs directly back to the Food Bank – products from animals that were mostly fed on food scraps that originally came from them. This in turn gives the Food Bank locally-grown, top-quality produce to redistribute to the community. It’s a full circle that builds a more resilient and sustainable food supply chain. But without federal funds, we are at risk of losing everything we have created.”

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