LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some food pantries could soon have to turn people away because of federal funding cuts.

Officials with Dare to Care, Kentuckiana's largest hunger relief network, said information from Feeding America shows 186,350 people in the community are experiencing food insecurity.

In the last two years, CEO Vincent James said the food bank has seen a nearly 50% increase in people relying on its resources.

“I met with a gentleman on Monday who asked me, ‘I don’t know why I’m still alive. I haven’t eaten since Friday. I don’t even want to be here anymore.’ How do you answer stuff like that?” said Shane Schlatter, Executive Director of Exodus Family Ministries.

Schlatter serves the people of Southwest Louisville through Exodus Family Ministries. He said it's currently helping roughly 2,000 people with food each month.

From home foreclosures to relying on a campfire for heating food, Schlatter said he's seen hungry people making tough calls to make ends meet.

“There’s a lot of kids that are in desperation right now,” he said. “There’s a lot of moms who are in desperation because they don’t know how they’re going to feed their children all summer long. The need that we’re seeing out there is unbelievable. It’s not getting better.”

Weeks after Dare to Care reported nearly two-thirds of Kentuckiana residents must choose between paying utility bills or buying food, the nonprofit says new data shows the problem is growing. Proposed federal budget cuts to nutrition programs could make it even harder.

“This is a level we haven’t really seen since the Great Recession,” James said.

James attributes this rising demand to the end of COVID-era funding and inflation. He also said Dare to Care provided 22 million meals over the past year.

However, federal budget cuts threaten that food supply because 28% of Dare to Care's funding comes from the government. While Dare to Care is always looking for more donations and volunteers, that's not enough to make up the loss.

“There’s no way that we can make up that gap,” James said. “Someone is not going to get food. That’s just unimaginable.”

Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study reveals one in seven Kentuckiana residents worry about providing enough food for their families, and one out of every five children don’t have enough to eat. Map the Meal Gap is the only study that provides local-level estimates of food insecurity and food costs for every county and congressional district.

Now local officials are sounding the alarm about proposed Medicaid cuts that could jeopardize programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

James said Dare to Care can’t be a permanent replacement for those federal programs. He said that’s because $1 invested into Dare to Care produces two meals, while $1 invested into SNAP can provide nine meals.

TEFAP also provides 25% of the 7.5 million pounds of food distributed by Dare to Care each year.

“Dare to Care and our partners are seeing a drastic increase in demand,” said Vincent James, the president and CEO of Dare to Care. “In the face of rising food prices and threats of federal budget cuts, we know this will directly impact our ability to help working families, veterans, people with disabilities, and our children.”

That’s why more than a dozen Louisville-based faith leaders joined the food bank on Wednesday to condemn the federal budget cuts. Some even said their church’s food pantries would not exist without the help of Dare to Care.

They now urge everyone to call their local legislators and demand support for nutrition programs, so fewer people have to choose between filling their gas tanks and feeding their families.

Schlatter said the need is real.

“There are people in our community whose lives are literally depending on it,” he said. “There are people that are facing summer with a sense of dread, and they don’t know what to do.”

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