As a Second Harvest Food Bank partner, Common Heart is feeling the effects of drastic federal cuts to food assistance programs. 

On April 22, we were informed that due to a 50% cut in federal funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) we would not receive any TEFAP food allocations for the remainder of the month and at this time the federal distribution for May is unclear. TEFAP – administered through Second Harvest – is a major source of nonperishables, meat, and produce for Common Heart food pantries. 

This sudden reduction comes at a time when need in our community remains great. Common Heart currently serves approximately 8,000 people (a record high!) each month in Union County, and TEFAP plays a vital role in making that possible. Our evening pantry location at Benton Heights Presbyterian Church in Monroe just set a record high, serving 154 families in one night! 

“This news was a gutpunch,” Common Heart Pantry Director Ryan Kolbe said. “But we know the care and compassion of this community. So while this setback is serious, it’s not the end of the story. We remain committed to our mission of bridging the gap for families facing food insecurity.”

As of Friday (May 2) Common Heart only had three small boxes of one-pound tubes of ground beef provided by TEFAP in its freezer. By Monday, this TEFAP meat will be gone.   

Common Heart staff are “actively looking for other sources of food and support to help bridge this unexpected gap,” Kolbe said, “but we need help. This is the perfect opportunity for our amazing community to show, once again, that we care for our neighbors and don’t want anyone to go to bed hungry.” 

Common Heart is currently the largest food pantry network in Union County and offers delivery for neighbors who have special dietary needs, such as diabetes, heart care, kidney care, or gluten free. In 2024, Common Heart provided groceries to 22,093 neighbors an average of 6 times through 13 pantry outreaches. 

According to Feeding America, it’s estimated that in Union County, over 25,000 adults and children are hungry or facing the threat of hunger. That’s about 10.5% of the residents of the county, which is an increase of about 3.5% (7,300 people) since 2023. 

We’ve seen this increase firsthand at our pantries with a wave of first time attendees. A staggering 9,372 individuals representing 2,476 households came to one of our food pantries for the very first time last year! Of those individuals, 3,961 are children ages 17 and younger. An estimated 1 in 6 children in Union County live in homes facing food insecurity.

How can you help? 

-Advocate for our neighbors facing food insecurity by reaching out to your federal representatives   

-Donate to local food pantries, like Common Heart. Nonperishables can be dropped off at Common Heart, 116 Business Park Drive in Indian Trail, anytime using the boxes in the front of the building. For a full list of drop off locations, visit: FoodDrives.CommonHeart.org Please check all food donations to make sure they are not expired. Common Heart also has an Amazon Wish List for easy online shopping: https://a.co/6xFpukW