Food banks across the Carolinas are bracing for more impacts from federal budget cuts they say threaten to upend nutritional support for millions of Americans.
In Rock Hill, the strain is already being felt. Local food pantries, previously able to reliably meet needs, say they’re increasingly struggling to fill shelves because of previous federal cuts and frozen money. Regional groups such as Feeding the Carolinas and Second Harvest fear there is simply not enough charity to make up for the gap now being created.
“We have really just tried to streamline what we do,” said Gordon Bell, director of HOPE Food Pantry of Rock Hill. “We’re very cognizant about what we give away and what we may not. Where we were given four cans of green beans, we now might be giving two or three.”
At the beginning of 2025, food banks across the United States saw a $1 billion freeze in money that helped buy food directly from farmers. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, which cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.
Donna Ragan, Second Harvest donor relations and communications manager, says the reduction in SNAP benefits will place additional pressure on food banks and community pantries. That’s because people are now increasingly turning to emergency food services for assistance.
HOPE Food Pantry has been particularly affected by March cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program or TEFAP, which provides food by giving money to food banks.
“What we have had to do is basically change some of our strategy,” said Rachel Bell, a volunteer coordinator at HOPE Food Pantry. “We are actually buying more food to supplement what we are missing from TEFAP and the government. And we are working close with Second Harvest Food Bank up in Charlotte to make sure we get the food we need.”
For many on the margins, the safety net is wearing thin.
“As a single mom, it hits me, knowing that I could be here at any time. Knowing I can help, especially the children not go hungry, is huge,” Bell said.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act included nearly $7 billion in agricultural funding cuts, according to Politico. It followed a $500 million cut in federal funding to a U.S. Department of Agriculture food assistance programs that helps food banks.
The USDA defended the cuts in its budget summary as necessary to “safeguard our country from fiscal ruin” and says it is refocusing on eliminating waste, cutting red tape, and moving away from programs serving what it calls Washington bureaucratic “special interests.”
Research from the Urban Institute says a predicted 22.3 million families will lose some or all of their benefits after cuts to the SNAP. On average, those families will lose a total of $146 per month in SNAP support.
“We need our Senators and Representatives to understand that these historic cuts will not make SNAP more efficient or put families back to work — they will push more families into crisis while shifting new costs to local grocers and taxpayers,” said Eric Aft, chair of Feeding the Carolinas and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina.
Food pantries such as Rock Hill’s HOPE Food Pantry already are rationing food for its users.
HOPE of Rock Hill began its assistance program in 1975, following the closure of textile mills that left many people struggling to make ends meet. Several churches formed a ministry that’s grown to serve serve over 35 families a day.
The nonprofit also provides assistance with utilities, medicine, natural gas and some basic household needs.
Open 8:30-10:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday, HOPE often has a line of people waiting for doors to open to get food to take home to their families. It’s also open 6-7 p.m. Tuesday.
With the recent cuts of SNAP benefits, the little help some received previously has now dropped to none.
“I only get $23 worth of food stamps. Yeah, now I get nothing, that’s why I come here every other week,” said Jacqueline McCollough, who frequents HOPE. “I’m 63 and I don’t have a lot of income, so it helps me a lot. I have six grandchildren who come with my house daily and I feed them.”
Just a 20-minute drive from each other, Tabetha’s House, a halfway house for women in Rock Hill, uses HOPE to provide food for girls who come into the house.
“I just started working, and I do pay rent at the halfway house, and food has gotten really to be so expensive,” said Catherine McSwain, who stays at Tabetha’s House. “And there’s a lot of girls in the house and they come in and don’t have anything. So, we like to have food there in case they come and don’t have anything.”
There’s some good news: HOPE says it has received an increase in donations from businesses and churches to give food to people in need. And they’ve been working with Second Harvest of Metrolina to get any discounted food they can.
“We don’t want anybody to feel food insecure or go hungry. We’re going to make sure people eat,” Bell said.
HOPE isn’t directly affected by federal funding cuts because it’s donation-based. Second Harvest Food Bank, which helps supply the Rock Hill nonprofit, faces effects of both federal funding cuts and the domino effect of the SNAP cuts.
According to Second Harvest, the loss of USDA food through its emergency assistance program has resulted in an approximate 20% reduction in resources.
“The result of this is less food going to food pantries, therefore less food going to people in need,” Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina said in a statement to The Herald. “While we are actively raising funds to purchase additional food it is unrealistic to think we can raise sufficient funds to completely replace 20% of our food supply.”