Eudora’s mobile Harvesters distribution at the Methodist church may see changes to the fresh produce it receives after federal funding cuts have affected food banks in Kansas and Missouri.

The Local Food Purchase Agreement is the funding program that will impact Eudora’s mobile distribution, said Sarah Biles, a spokesperson for Harvesters. Harvesters had planned on applying for a third round of funding from this program, which would have provided around $1 million to buy produce from local farmers. 

“That was really great because it allowed us to purchase fresh produce, dairy and protein from local Kansas farmers,” she said. “We really felt it was a win-win, and I think the farmers we worked with felt it was a win-win.” 

Biles said Harvesters was able to get some of the freshest produce it had ever received because it was coming from farmers’ fields and, within days, it would be on the tables of community members facing food insecurity. 

Harvesters does have funding of about $369,000 from the state budget for a similar type of program, but that funding also was cut for next year by Kansas lawmakers. That money will last until June, but after that, the amount of fresh produce seen at the Eudora location may be smaller, she said. 

The amount of food available will most likely not change much, but without this program, there may not be the possibility of as much fresh produce, she said. 

To make up for the loss of these funding mechanisms, Harvesters will look for other funding sources and look to the community to fill the gaps, she said. 

“I would just say that, you know, anybody out there who is concerned about this news, we encourage them to speak with state and federal lawmakers about how important this high-quality food is,” she said. 

These cuts are coming as the number of people facing food insecurity has increased, she said. 

Tom Schmidt, who helps organize distribution at the Methodist church, said that each month they feed around 160 families. In March, those families totaled around 630 people. They weren’t able to distribute in January or February due to inclement weather. The Eudora United Methodist Church’s mobile distribution is on the third Wednesday of each month.

About half of those people are from Eudora, but this location serves people from between 18 to 21 zip codes, he said. 

It’s important to understand that Harvesters is still committed to feeding as many food insecure residents as possible, Biles said. They are not at severe financial risk nor is there any risk of Harvesters shutting down, she said. 

“We want everyone to be aware we are still there, that we will still be doing these distributions, but, you know, we do need community support to keep making that happen,” she said.  

Schmidt said these changes by the administration are cutting areas for people in the most need. 

Each distribution morning that the truck arrives before they start distributing to families, there will be cars lined up for over two hours prior, he said.

“Our distribution doesn’t start ‘til 9:30, 9:45 sometimes, depending on when the truck gets there. When you get people who’ve been out there since 6:30, 7 o’clock in the morning in their vehicles waiting in line, what’s that tell you? You wouldn’t do that if you didn’t need the assistance,” he said. 

Schmidt said he doesn’t know another place where you can volunteer for two hours and help that many people, he said. 

Just Food in Lawrence will also be impacted as Harvesters receives 30% less food from a different federal program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Just Food serves between 300 and 600 families in its pantry each day, and supplies food to 30 partner agencies, according to a news release.

On average, food from this federal program accounts for 6,000 to 8,000 pounds of food distributed by Just Food every month. More than 5,500 individuals in Douglas County rely on food from the Emergency Food Assistance Program through Just Food. 

Here are ways to help:

Schmidt said the Methodist church doesn’t need volunteers at this time, but people can help food insecurity locally by donating to the Eudora Food Pantry. 

Information on how to support Just Food can be found here. 

Harvesters in Lawrence can always use more volunteers, Biles said. Information on how to sign up is available here.