Tyler Police officer James McCraw does traffic control as hundreds of cars are queued to participate in the East Texas Food Bank drive-thru emergency food box distribution in response to COVID-19 in Tyler, Texas on Friday, April 3, 2020. According to officials from the East Texas Food Bank, 840 households were served in the drive-thru with 1680 gallons of milk and 13,440 meals.

Between the months of March and November, St. Paul Children’s Services in Tyler saw nearly 3,800 new families visit its food pantry – a 362% increase over the same period last year.

The organization is just one among many area food pantries that partners with the East Texas Food Bank, a nonprofit that works to fight against food insecurity and hunger across 26 counties.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the need for resources remains as high as ever, Wyatt Bynum, development director for St. Paul Children’s Services, said.

While one in five East Texans, including one in three children, are now facing hunger, leaders with the East Texas Food Bank and other food banks across the state are concerned about potential cuts to three federal and state programs in the new year.

These programs include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Purchase and Distribution Program, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program and the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Surplus Agricultural Product Grant.

The Food Purchase and Distribution Program was established as one of the USDA trade mitigation programs to help farmers impacted by trade retaliation internationally. The USDA buys the food from American farmers and in most cases the food goes to states to be distributed to food banks.

According to the Texas Tribune, this program’s funding ended in September but food banks are getting some groceries that were bought using these funds into December.

The Farmers to Families Food Box program began in response to the pandemic, and it has distributed millions of food boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and meat products, according to the USDA.

This program received funding through December, but it has not been renewed for next year, the Tribune reported.

In addition to the federal programs, TDA announced a $1.9 million cut to the Surplus Agricultural Product Grant, which goes toward helping food banks obtain fresh produce from local growers. This cut was proposed in light of Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for state agencies to trim their budgets by 5%.

Mark Dallas Loeffler, communications director for the TDA, said this proposal has to be approved by the Texas Legislature in January to be finalized. He added that the options were limited when having to choose where to make budget cuts.

Dennis Cullinane, East Texas Food Bank CEO, said if these cuts go through, local food distributions would be hurt. He noted that these cuts would come at a time when a federal moratorium on evictions is set to conclude at the end of this month.

“We’ve got to figure out some mitigation efforts,” Cullinane said, adding the ETFB is still distributing at a record pace — a trend he doesn’t see ending soon.

If these programs go away, Cullinane said distribution from those resources will likely not be available, leading to pressure on the food bank’s partner agencies.

“It’s going to make it much more expensive to distribute food,” he said. “Right now, we’re concerned about the long run.”

The food bank could become more reliant on private donations and purchasing its own products more frequently, he said.

“We’d have to be more creative,” Cullinane said. “I’ll continue to distribute food until the shelves are bare, but we don’t want to get to that point.”

Cullinane said he’s proud of pantry partners that have been able to stay open.

“They’re really putting in a heroic effort,” Cullinane said. “Losing these programs is going to put a real threat to that.”

St. Paul’s had to close its doors in the early days of the pandemic in order to comply with orders from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But after making some adjustments – like switching to a drive-thru distribution method – and through the help of volunteers, it has served 11,367 families, what Bynum calls an “incredible number,” during its monthly distributions this year.

“Rain, shine or snow, we’re still passing out food on Monday, Wednesday and Friday,” Bynum said. “Overall, we have been blessed and we are receiving food and getting food out to the families. We’ve had a lot of people come through and donate. There’s been a lot of generous donors that have helped us. A real team effort is what we’ve seen.”

Bynum said he believes St. Paul’s pantry can remain open through the holidays and the new year, no matter what, thanks to the community support.

Cullinane, too, said that community advocacy could prove instrumental in ensuring much-needed funding is not lost.

For those interested in helping, Cullinane suggests people use their voice to contact state representatives and senators, as well as advocate for and donate to the food bank.

But one of the most important tasks, Cullinane said, is to volunteer.

“Every item that we have is touched by a volunteer somewhere along the line,” he said. “We all have so much to be thankful for. Let’s try to remember those that are struggling with this.”

Celia Cole, the CEO of Feeding Texas – an organization that oversees East Texas Food Bank and 20 others like it – said she, too, is worried about the expiration of resources that food banks now face.

Cole said Feeding Texas is advocating for a continuation of the USDA funding and promoting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. She said the SNAP benefits will help get people out of the food bank line and into the grocery store.

Feeding Texas also wants to see the state legislature turn down the proposed funding cut by TDA.

Cole said she’s visited with both Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz’s offices to let them know what resources could look like if cuts occur. She added that Feeding Texas has reached out to the governor’s office and state representatives regarding the TDA cut.

Food insecurity has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to job losses and an economic downturn, Cole said. She added that past volunteers are now in line needing help.

“Let Congress know they’ve got to act quickly and do the responsible thing and make sure people don’t go hungry during this pandemic,” Cole said.

Feeding Texas, she said, is grateful for the philanthropic generosity of area business donations and from the local community.

But at this point, she said, the kind of aid that’s needed extends beyond what the community can offer. Food banks are in desperate need of “increased federal aid.”

“Food banks, they are an immediate lifeline for people that need food,” she said. “If we don’t get the support in the bipartisan COVID relief bill, more Texans could go hungry.”