Heart of Dixie Food Bank asks for help to feed Montgomery County's 40,000 food insecure

MONTGOMERY – The Heart of Alabama Food Bank asked the Montgomery County Commission for additional funds to help them feed its 40,000 residents who are considered food insecure.

Michael Coleman, the food bank’s CEO, told the commission that recent federal cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture have “drastically” affected their ability to provide food to needy families in Montgomery County.

Almost 18% of Montgomery residents are considered food insecure, and over half of those earn too much to qualify for food stamps, so there are no government programs to help them feed their families, Coleman said.

The food bank has given 4.72 million pounds of food in the last 12 months, which Coleman said equates to nearly 4 million meals for a direct cost of almost $800,000 for Montgomery County, according to Coleman.

The food bank purchases food and distributes other donated food from grocery stores, which makes donated dollars go farther. The food bank can provide five meals for every dollar, although the retail cost per meal is $4.21, Coleman said.

However, the bank saw budget cuts even before the administration of Donald Trump, losing $600,000 in funds from the USDA’s TFAP, CSFP and LFPA programs, which all faced significant cuts themselves.

“We’re coming to ask for help because the bottom line is we simply do not have the capacity to make up that difference,” Coleman told the commission. The bank serves 35 counties but may have to make cuts that will affect Montgomery citizens.

He requested $100,000 from the commission, the same amount that he said Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed has pledged, which covers 25%. He hopes that grants and fundraising will cover the rest.  

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Commissioner Justin Castanza sympathized the Coleman, saying that the cost cuts were out of their control. He said the county commission may have to make a budget amendment to help fund the food bank.

“This isn’t just a program, this is a staple,” Castanza said. “This is how our community lives.”

And so maybe it’s something that the commission considers making a budget amendment versus trying to find $100,000 in surplus funds.

Commissioner Carmen Moore-Ziegler concurred with Castanza and assured Coleman that they will find a way to help.

“We’ll put our heads together and figure out how we’ll come up to help you,” she said. “Because it’s not just one district, it’s all our districts, it’s all our people. We don’t want anyone to go to bed hungry.”

The Montgomery County Commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 101 South Lawrence Street. Information sessions begin at 10 a.m. followed by the formal meeting.

Livestreamed meetings can be seen on the commission’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Agendas with additional details can be found at the commission’s documents section of the website.