DAVENPORT, Iowa — The River Bend Foodbank rang in the new year with some uncertainty after two government programs were set to run out at the end of 2020. Those programs helped provide food for a lot of people in need.
Just this week, River Bend Foodbank President Mike Miller says the USDA announced one of those programs would be coming back. That's the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. The other program, which was part of the trade mitigation efforts after the trade war with China, did run out on Dec. 31.
Now Miller says River Bend will have to wait and see if they actually get to be a part of Farmers to Families again.
"It's exciting if we actually get it, and we've gotten it every time," he says. "But not every food bank has. I'm pleased the USDA heard this loud and clear. Food banks were kind of screaming from the top of our lungs that losing this program in the middle of a pandemic was not a good thing."
Plus, Congress approved $400 million in additional funds for an emergency food program as part of the coronavirus relief package passed in December. Miller says those funds won't start showing up until the second quarter of 2021.
And that Farmers to Families program won't start up until late January or early February. In the meantime, Miller says they're buying two additional truckloads of food a week to keep up with demand.
"We took some of the resources the community... the gifts the community has generously provided here leading up to the holidays, bought some food to make sure we had food to not run out in January," Miller says. "And then we're hoping this government food comes back and the donation sources that slowed down during COVID continue to ease back up."
Miller says SNAP benefits were also expanded, so families could soon see additional funding there.
If you or someone you know might qualify right now for SNAP, even temporarily for SNAP, you can call the River Bend Foodbank for help applying.
Call (844) 600-7627 if you're in Illinois, (855) 944-3663 if you're in Iowa.