Trump Administration's 'Big Beautiful Bill' slashes security for local food banks

The Mercer County food bank has doubled down on efforts to starve out growing hunger, distributing a record 3.1 million pounds of food in 2024 alone.

But sweeping cuts to the SNAP program under Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" could put much of it at risk.

The Senate-passed reconciliation bill limits Medicaid and SNAP benefits for millions of Pennsylvanians, which is expected to result in more people needing food bank services.

"It's a very scary time for Mercer County," Mercer County Food Bank director of development Alexis Spence-Locke said. "These cuts to SNAP threaten support for more than two million people in Pennsylvania alone, including over half a million children and 300,000 seniors."

The bill's cuts come amid already difficult conditions for neighbors in need and the food banks. Inflated costs in grocery stores mean SNAP dollars aren't stretching as far. And, cuts to federal funding for food banks back in March mean they aren't able to bring in as many supplies to fill in those gaps.

"Right now, the food bank is working at a time of uncertainty. We recently lost nearly 500 thousand dollars in the evaluation of food. And we're just trying to keep up not only with the need, but with the loss of that food through federal cuts," Spence-Locke said.

Looking ahead, Spence-Locke says it's unclear whether current efforts are enough to maintain the food bank's level of support for those in need, which is why they're asking the community for help.

"Thankfully we have a very strong and supportive community that continues to support what we do here and our mission. But at some point we will reach a point where we just are going to have to start cutting back. We hope that that's no time soon, but again, it's a very uncertain time and we really don't know," she said.