With the support of the community of Cleveland County, the recent governmental budget cuts and cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been almost seamless to our food insecure residents. The Carolinas incurred an 11-million-dollar budget cut in funding to food pantries and SNAP benefits were delayed for a month with a new restriction to be recertified to receive the benefits.
Millions of Americans who rely on SNAP are facing significant changes in the new year, as stricter work requirements are set to expand to an older age group starting in January 2026. This final phase-in of rules established by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 will require more adults without dependents to work or participate in a training program to maintain their food assistance benefits.
The Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina is currently experiencing a significant food shortage. As demand continues to rise, the supply chain is very low and there’s not enough capacity to accommodate the number of clients facing food insecurity.
Washington Outreach Ministry’s clientele for food distribution experienced a 50% increase in 2025. Many individuals came from all walks of life who never anticipated standing in a food line to receive food.
Many families are being forced to make difficult decisions – whether to pay rent, utilities, purchase medication, or buy food. Cleveland County is considered economically disadvantaged and many have become homeless, primarily because of rate increases.
The community dollars provided through Healthy Together Cleveland (HTC) and the Everyone Eats program have been vital to the needs of the community.
With the unexpected increases that have already occurred in many areas, families will struggle through 2026 to make ends meet, even more than they struggled through the last quarter of 2025.
Your dollars count. Please continue to support this initiative so we may continue to support food insecurity in Cleveland County. We take care of our own.