Farmshare estimates it will lose about $510,000 in funding for Fresh for Less over two years, with the cuts taking effect in November.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — September is Hunger Action Month, and one Austin nonprofit is asking the community for help after losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in city funding.
Farmshare Austin, which works to make fresh food more accessible to people who face barriers to healthy food, said it is facing a significant budget shortfall that could affect several of its programs.
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It operates a 13-acre farm where it grows produce and trains farmers. Through its Fresh for Less program, the nonprofit helps make fresh produce more affordable for Travis County residents, including those who use SNAP benefits, through mobile markets and home delivery services.
“We’re economically supporting our farmer network while also getting locally grown, fresh grown, organically grown food to our community members who have the least opportunity to access local food,” said Michelle Akindiya, Farmshare Austin’s education director.
But Farmshare said some of those services could be at risk following cuts approved during the city’s budget process.
The organization said it faced proposed cuts to funding for two contracts. One social services contract remains under consideration, while another was eliminated.
“There’s a lot of people that really care and came out to speak up. It just didn’t cover everything, unfortunately,” Akindiya said. “And so we’re still seeing quite a significant cut in our budget.”
Farmshare estimates it will lose about $510,000 in funding for Fresh for Less over two years, with the cuts taking effect in November.
Akindiya said that loss comes from cuts to its chronic disease contract with Austin Public Health, which was included in a $400,000 Healthy Food Access line item.
Farmshare said the city previously covered about 64% of Fresh for Less. With the cuts, the lost funding represents roughly 30% of the program’s operating costs.
The nonprofit said its programs help provide fresh food to about 33,000 Austinites. Without additional support, Farmshare said it could have to scale back its mobile markets, reduce home deliveries for people with limited mobility, purchase less produce from local farmers and reduce its staff.
“It takes a lot of work to get the food from seed to harvest, and then from the farm to people’s homes,” Akindiya said. “It requires many, many labor hours from really passionate people that care so much about our community. And so right now we are fundraising so that everyone can keep their jobs.”
Akindiya said she remains hopeful community support will help keep the programs running.
“It’s important for us as a community of people to care for each other and to help each other access the food that’s right for our diets, that’s appropriate to our culture, that makes us feel happy and healthy,” she said. “And it’s a way that we can care for each other as a community of people.”
Farmshare Austin said it needs to raise about $255,000 by November to keep its services running for the next year.