As federal cuts trickle down to the local level, Sakonnet-area food pantries are looking at an uncertain future as one of their main sources of food takes a hit.

While neither the Little Compton Food Bank nor the East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP's) Tiverton Food Pantry directly receives federal funding, recent United States Department of Agricultural funding cuts enacted by the Trump administration will impact them as each receives funding from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which receives federal USDA money. Governor McKee expects a $250,000 cut to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank budget this year, from $800,000 down to $550,000.

“These cuts are devastating,” Rita Capotosto, EBCAP's vice president of family development, said. “We’re not quite sure how we will be able to make this up, If we’ll be able to make this up."

While she hopes for more donations and help from farmers, she said the cuts will hurt the pantry's ability to buy food from local suppliers, hurting local farmers' business as well.

Busier than ever

As the cuts come and the economy worsens, the need for local food banks' services is increasing, and both Tiverton and Little Compton are getting busier, with more patrons.

"It’s just a perfect storm for a lot of suffering, I don’t know what is going to happen. It’s not exaggerating to call this a crisis,” said Capotosto, who expects a 47 percent increase in traffic this year.

It is much the same in Little Compton. The Little Compton Food Bank’s John Hitchcock said roughly half of the bank's food comes from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, either purchased at a discounted rate or donated directly. A loss of that would lead to a huge hole in the amount of food available to those in need here, he said.

“I know [the Rhode Island Food Bank] is doing a great job trying to find private sources to make up for the cuts that they’re facing,” Hitchcock said. They’re doing what they can, and we’ll certainly do what we can.”

Members of both food banks have publicly expressed concern about the future. In Little Compton, bank board member Virginia Army spoke about the cuts' potential effect at a town budget committee meeting early in April. Board members are requesting $37,500 from Little Compton, an increase from last year’s $30,000, and a warrant article to that effect is on the warrant for the Tuesday, June 17 town meeting.

In Tiverton, EBCAP officials are seeking $5,000 but since the budget has not yet been finalized, the status of that request is unknown.

“Nearly a third of Rhode Island food banks' revenue comes from federal grant programs,” she said. “We don’t yet know the impact of these cuts, but any significant change to our pipeline of goods from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank would blow a huge hole in our budget for this calendar year.”

As is the case at the Tiverton bank, Little Compton food bank manager Elizabeth Ross said the food bank has been growing significantly in order to meet the needs of the community over the past few years, as the cost of living rises.

“I think people still perceive it as someone wandering in and getting a little bag of food,” she said. “I don’t think they realize that I have patrons that we’re not just supplementing, we’re their grocery store.”

Ross said that while she doesn't know the cuts' ultimate impact, she does know that if the food bank were to lose portions of the food that it currently supplies to residents, volunteers would not be able to feed the customers who come in to pick up their groceries every Friday and Saturday.