Editor’s note: This story is the second in a two-part series on how local food banks are being impacted by federal policy changes. Click here to read the first story, which focuses on immigration policy.
Chris Yonushonis is nervous.
As the deputy director of Montgomery County hunger relief for the North Bethesda-based So What Else food pantry, he is carefully watching how tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are trickling down to impact the nonprofit’s operations and donations.
“Months ago, we were taking in several semi-trucks a day in fruits, which had no buyers when the ships carrying them docked in the U.S. [possibly] due to lack of consumer demand or inflation,” Yonushonis told Bethesda Today. “Those shipments have gotten more scarce, maybe because countries have reduced shipments to the U.S. unless they had confirmed buyers.”
And under changes made by the Trump administration, Yonushonis said he’s seen other food pantries lose grants they relied on to operate, forcing them to close. But there’s a kicker: according to Yonushonis, there’s plenty of food and resources that are going to waste. The issue is securing it and getting it distributed.
“I briefly, naively, hoped that the reduced exports due to tariff retaliation might mean more U.S. food would be unmarketable and available for donation. Of course, that’s not the case,” Yonushonis said. “I have read reports of farms killing their herds of cows, rather than continuing to feed them, only to sell or donate them at a loss. It’s the same for grains and vegetables – without a market promising to at least break even, there is no incentive to harvest and transport.”
In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order imposing sweeping tariffs on foreign countries engaged in economic trade with the United States, The Associated Press reported. The tariffs include a 34% tax on imports from China and 20% on the European Union, among other countries.
A federal court struck down the tariffs, but an appeals court is allowing the Trump administration to continue collecting them while the case goes through appeals, according to The Associated Press. Trump has continually changed his tariff plans, enacting and revoking delays on policies for various countries.
These tariffs have prompted some distributors and manufacturers to raise their prices or impose tariff fees on their products.
So What Else, which relies primarily on private donations as well as food recovery efforts, is not the only local food pantry experiencing challenges as a result of the tariffs.
Unlike So What Else, the Upcounty Hub in Germantown has a contract with the county government that helps with some of its food bank operations. But that funding only goes so far, according to Marko Rivero-Oven, executive director of the nonprofit that provides food and services to residents in need in the upcounty.
“We have seen a spike in some of the food pricing because of the tariffs, so our money that we get is being spent a lot faster,” Rivera-Oven said. “And unfortunately, the county doesn’t have a lot of extra money to give out.”
The Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience, which provides grant funding and other resources to local food banks, was allocated $14 million in the county’s $7.6 billion fiscal year 2026 budget, which goes into effect July 1. That funding is divided up among food pantries that either have contracts with the county or apply for specialized grants. But Rivera-Oven said this funding isn’t enough to meet the need of all county residents facing food insecurity, particularly as prices inflate.
“A lot of nonprofits did not get what we were anticipating. But at the same time, we need to do what we’re required and contracted to do with either the same or less money, but amidst a huge change of administration, and also with tariffs, and also with a huge spike of people coming to receive these services,” Rivera-Oven said. “So I just think it’s unfortunately extremely ironic, but money doesn’t grow on trees at the end of the day.”
The tariff issues and increasing food prices come as the county continues to experience an increase in food insecurity among residents. Food insecurity rates in Montgomery County have skyrocketed over the past five years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the county saw about a 50% increase in food insecurity in its population, and that need has not dissipated, according to county officials.
That increase was coupled by an estimated 50% increase in the number of organizations that were providing food assistance in the county. In July 2024, several food pantry leaders who spoke to Bethesda Today expressed concerns that the need within the county is outpacing the financial support the organizations are receiving.
Loss of federal funding
Food banks are also taking a hit as federal grant funding is cut. In March, Manna Food Center, which operates out of Gaithersburg and Silver Spring was directly impacted when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut more than $1 billion in food aid funding. USDA announced the cuts in March as part of the Trump administration’s mass restructuring of federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, who has since left the federal government.
The more than $1 billion in cuts impact the Local Food for Schools program, which provides federal funding for states and localities to distribute healthy foods from local farms to public schools, and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides federal funding for food banks to purchase food from local farmers, USA Today reported.
Manna’s Farm to Food Bank, which received funding from this program, provides “fresh, locally and regionally grown produce, meat, and eggs to those experiencing hunger and food insecurity in our community by purchasing from neighboring farms throughout the growing season,” according to the nonprofit’s website. In fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, Manna purchased and distributed 150,767 pounds of produce from local farms through the initiative.
While the cut was a setback, Manna Executive Director Craig Rice said he is grateful the organization has historically been strategic in diversifying its sources of income. But he has concerns about how potential cuts to government programs such as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the USDA’s food assistance program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) could put recipients in even greater need.
“It is something that we’re incredibly fearful of — that perfect storm that even the folks that we serve will need more and on top of that, we’ll have more folks that will need our services,” Rice said.
Hughes United Methodist Church on Georgia Avenue in Wheaton, which operates multiple popular food distribution events each week, relies primarily on food distributed through the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., and food recovery partnerships with local grocery stores, according to the Rev. Diana Wingeier-Rayo. This means the church’s food bank hasn’t been directly impacted by the tariffs or federal funding cuts, but Wingeier-Rayo said there could be a trickle-down effect.
“I know that the county was receiving federal funds to alleviate the food crisis in the county, and they will receive less,” Wingeier-Rayo said. “But we’re not really concerned about [losing county money], because the county is always worried about feeding the people, and they know people will continue coming and we have to continue to be open.”
Federal workers join wave of need
Local food banks are also seeing a shift in their clientele, with more former federal workers who were laid off by DOGE seeking assistance. Prior to the DOGE layoffs, more than 70,000 federal workers lived in Montgomery County. That number does not include people who live in neighboring jurisdictions but work at federal agencies based in the county, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda. It has been difficult for county officials to compile an exact number of residents who have been laid off, but estimates are in the thousands. According to state Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Dist. 15), the state of Maryland lost more than 2,600 federal jobs in May alone.
“I’m anticipating a large spike in people requesting food,” Rivera-Oven said. “With all of the layoffs, it’s a whole different ball game than we’re used to.”
Wingeier-Rayo said Hughes United Methodist Church has seen an uptick of former federal workers among its clientele since January.
“It really is a crisis,” she said.
Yonushonis said while So What Else is still getting its average amount of private donations, he is concerned how changes in the economy could impact donors’ ability to give.
“We have some very wealthy donors. But you never know,” Yonushonis said. “There seems to be a pretty solid public understanding that things are getting worse for people, and that the need is growing.”
Manna’s average waitlist time for new clients to receive food has increased from two weeks in November 2024 to an average of six weeks now, according to Rice. He shared the story of a family that had previously used Manna’s services but left in 2013 after the breadwinner got a job as part of the federal workforce. The family came back to Manna in March after being affected by the DOGE federal layoffs.
“We’re seeing folks who are really in dire straits,” Rice said. “Folks that are coming to us are looking at this from an emergency standpoint.”
While food bank leaders said they are strategizing to address changes in the economy and their clientele, they also may have to wait to see what happens.
“We are trying to do everything we can. We met with Gov. [Wes] Moore … seeking additional state support. We’ve been meeting with County Councilmembers,” Rice said. “But we don’t know how financially we’ll be able to [take the] burden of that type of tsunami that comes in with the layoffs of federal workers … this is happening in real time, as we speak.”
