Directors from each of Louisville’s 13 community ministries gathered outside Eastern Area Community Ministries to call for a city-wide food drive. They described increasing demand as food prices remain stubbornly high and eligibility for federal food assistance tightens.
At the same time, commodities provided to food pantries by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have sharply declined over the last fiscal year through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Paired together, it means Kentucky food pantries are trying to stretch less food for more people.
“At the very same time when our neighbors need us the most, the community ministries and other food organizations are receiving significantly less food to distribute,” said Carrie Gerard, executive director of Eastern Area Community Ministries. “So we are being asked to do more with less at exactly the moment when the need is growing.”
So they’re turning to the community. Gerard said the community came together in a big way last year when the Trump administration said it would not release Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits unless the federal shutdown ended.
“We had a conference room that was suddenly not a conference room anymore because we needed to put food in it, which was fantastic. And we are hoping that people will understand because this is not just a nationwide problem,” Gerard said. “Not only are families not having access to federal benefit support, but their local pantries are also struggling.”
According to the Dare to Care Food Bank in Louisville and southern Indiana, the pantry has received 2.4 million pounds of food less in the most recent fiscal year compared to the year before. Those federal commodities make up a quarter of all food Dare to Care is able to distribute to the community.
Much of those federal commodities are sorely needed protein sources, said Eric French Sr., executive director of the Shively Area Ministries. The Louisville-area food banks are especially asking for canned meats and beans, rice and hearty soups.
“We don't want to just give people cans of food. We want to give them a full meal, but that protein has to be there,” French said. “So what we're having to do is now take from other parts of our budget in order to go out and buy meat on the street.”
The dropoff in federal commodities comes as many food pantries report seeing increased needs in their communities. The number of Kentuckians receiving food assistance benefits has dropped sharply. Just between July and August this year, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services reported a 6.7% total drop in recipients. Of those, more than 15,500 children fell off of food assistance.
While the number of people enrolled in SNAP tends to fluctuate each month, August represented a significant drop in a year where participation only seems to go down. In September 2025, almost 631,700 Kentuckians received food benefits. Last month, just over 544,200 were enrolled in this program — over 87,500 fewer people receiving benefits.
Trump’s signature tax and policy package, which he dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill, added new hurdles to those applying for SNAP, created new eligibility requirements and shifted costs onto states. Across the country, enrollment has dropped by roughly 5 million people, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Under the new eligibility requirements, which took effect in June, the upper age limit for able-bodied adults without dependents who must meet work requirements went from 54 to 64 years old. Parents with older children are also no longer exempt from work requirements. The bill also removed eligibility for most refugees and asylees who entered the country legally.
“Do I buy food or do I pay for my rent? Do I pay for my rent or do I buy medicine?” French said, describing the decisions food insecure Kentuckians have to make. “We're gathered here this morning just to encourage our community to come together because today it's your neighbor. Tomorrow it might just be you.”
