By: Hollie Hojek
hhojek@kcautv.com
An expired farm bill definitely affects a lot of people, maybe the largest group though, the hundreds of thousands of Iowans, waiting and wondering where their next meal is coming from."
"Wow, that's just empty shelves... that's bad."
Visibly distraught, Reverend Patricia Johnson of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Sioux City, stares at the barren shelves of the food pantry, and wonders how they'll be able to feed the hungry families that come to their door this week.
"We don't have cereal, usually I'd grab two juices, we don't have juice."
You see, a large part of the farm bill is made up of programs that help feed the hungry; most commonly known as food stamps and TFAP or the commodity program, and now that the farm bill has expired, Linda Scheid, executive director of the food bank of Siouxland says around 400,000 Iowans are at risk of not knowing where their next meal is coming from.
"What we once had, we already don't have. And yet there are more people knocking on the door and more people saying they need assistance. How do you turn someone away and say no I can't help you...and that's the position I'm afraid we're looking at if we don't find enough resources,"said Scheid.
On average, the Food Bank of Siouxland distributes 1.5 million pounds of food to nearby food pantries each year, and a significant amount of that food comes from the commodity program in the farm bill. So without it, food pantries could become even more strapped than they are now. But there is a grace period before any cuts could be made.
"Nothing will really happen until January, without an extension, because the programs can continue without the underlying provisions. So we have several months here, where we're nervous and we're concerned but we will have the resources we need for these people," said Scheid, reading an email from the "Feeding America" organization.
And while that may ease the concerns of some folks in Siouxland, Reverend Johnson, says she still doesn't understand how the empty shelves will be able to feed the mouths' of all the families expected to walk through the doors now until January.
"It's very disappointing."
The Food Bank of Siouxland says if things get much worse before January, they will look into using more local resources and their own funds if possible, to keep food on these shelves.
