Federal Funding Cuts: What’s Needed When Grants Dry Up
“There are no more easy days.” That’s how Carolina Miller, the director of programs & operations at Fallbrook Food Pantry, described the wake of COVID and federal funding cuts. Like so many other partners in the Feeding San Diego network, Fallbrook Food Pantry has had two ongoing issues: higher demand and lower funding. With less federal support, our partners rely more on Feeding San Diego and the food rescue partners we cultivate. In turn, Feeding San Diego relies on community generosity to keep critical programs running.
High Demand Meets Low Funding
“We’ve been having funding issues for a year and a half,” Carolina explained last October in the midst of the 2025 government shutdown. “We had had a budget of over $400,000 for grants. For this year, we knew things were gonna be difficult, so we lowered it to $175,000, and we only have got $125,000, and it’s October. The cuts are cutting deep, and it’s affecting the pantry tremendously.”
Carolina Miller, Director of Programs & Operations at Fallbrook Food Pantry
Carolina started working at the pantry in 2019, so she was on the front lines of the COVID food crisis. But she also experienced the aftermath.
“COVID happened. We had an immense amount of people coming. Then they started receiving benefits, and it slowed down a lot,” she shared. “After all the benefits dried up from the COVID relief funding that individuals were receiving, that’s when the spike happened.”
Most federal COVID-19 relief measures expired in 2024. For many San Diegans, the loss of higher CalFresh and unemployment benefits meant returning to their local food pantries.
“In 2019, we were serving 60 people a day in the same three-hour time period,” Carolina recalled. “Now, our normal is 120 every day. We used to have days that were not so busy, that we had less clients coming to the pantry, and it was an easy day. There are no more easy days. Whatever day we’re here, we’re always gonna be busy.”
A Different Area, the Same Story
At the Foundry Food Pantry in Escondido, Mary Nielsen, finance director of the Foundry Community Church, shared a similar story to Carolina’s.
Mary Nielsen, Finance Director, The Foundry Community Church
“Each time we are open, we have two ongoing distributions,” she explained. “We offer the bags of fresh produce and items we have picked up from the stores once a week, and we also offer the Emergency Food (EFAP) two times each month. We received dry goods through the EFAP program and have seen less items given with our deliveries due to cutbacks.”
The Emergency Food Assistance Program, known as EFAP or TEFAP, is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of people with low incomes by providing emergency food assistance at no cost. In 2025, the federal government froze or canceled about $500 million of funding for the program. At the same time, funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Cooperative Agreement program, which awarded states and Tribes funds to purchase food from local farmers and distribute it to hungry families through charitable organizations, was cancelled. Both of these programs helped ensure hunger-relief organizations could serve their communities.
“At the beginning of the summer, we were serving roughly 350 families each week. Right now, we are averaging 450 families each week,” Mary shared during our October 2025 visit. “With cuts to EBT and the government shutdown, we are seeing more individuals, families, and seniors come to our pantry. Several people have mentioned that their EBT funding was reduced.”
The Importance of Partnerships
Both Mary and Carolina described the immediate impact of cuts to federal programs on the lines at their respective pantries. Federal funding cuts, whether to grants or programs like CalFresh, directly affect San Diegans facing food insecurity. For the Fallbrook Food Pantry and the Foundry, resources like Feeding San Diego’s food rescue program help them meet the needs of their neighbors.
A volunteer at Fallbrook Food Pantry stocks carts with food received through fresh rescue.
“The fresh rescue is so important because our demand has increased tremendously,” Carolina shared. “Feeding San Diego is just amazing and one of our biggest partners. Not only do we get food from you delivered every single week, reliable every Monday, but you also have provided a strong relationship with the different stores for fresh rescue.”
With fresh rescue, our partners can pick up surplus food from nearby stores and share it with their community immediately. Combining food delivery with food rescue pickups helps ensure partners have the food their neighbors need.
“We began our delivery service with Feeding San Diego during the COVID pandemic,” Mary explained. “This has been a great partnership by providing fresh produce each week to offer to our families, along with the items we receive through our fresh rescue program.”
A Difficult Start to 2026
Our neighbors are living through a challenging time. Cuts to programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as CalFresh, were enacted last year and will fully take effect in the near future. The 2025 government shutdown meant delayed or missed paychecks and benefit payments for many of our neighbors. San Diego County ended 2025 with the second-highest inflation rate in the country. Healthcare subsidies have expired, meaning insurance costs are expected to rise.
All of these factors will continue to affect our community. As a result, we expect longer lines at our food distributions and more demand on our network of partners. You can help ensure the necessary food resources are available.
Help Support the Response to Federal Funding Cuts
The most immediate way to help support your neighbors affected by federal funding cuts is to donate. Every dollar you donate helps provide two meals to San Diegans facing hunger. But there are many ways to get involved, and all are important. Learn more about getting involved with Feeding San Diego.
