NC budget impasse strains food banks as demand surges across the state

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina still doesn’t have a state budget and the impasse is taking its toll on area food banks. 

They rely on the state to help fund operations. 

They’re also recovering from last year’s government shutdown. 

Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina CEO Amy Beros says it’s worse now than during the pandemic. 

“It’s been a tough last year already, even before the budget impasse with the cuts that we’ve had, and this was an added layer. We typically receive about a million dollars of support from the state government, and that money goes directly back into North Carolina farmers and North Carolina agriculture, and due to the budget impasse that we’re at, food banks across the state are not receiving any funding for that, and that also means our local farmers aren’t receiving that revenue,” Beros said.  

Beros adds, over the past two years, the food bank has seen an increase of 150,000 people needing its services because wages are not keeping up with the rising cost of food.

She expects an even greater demand for food when potential SNAP and Medicaid benefits are cut later this year.