The Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry is helping more people than ever before. At the same time, one of its largest food sources has been cut in half.
During the first six months of 2026, the food pantry run by Jewish Family Services served 363 first-time clients while receiving 172,485 pounds of USDA food. During the same period last year, it received 356,775 pounds, a drop of more than 50%.
Those two trends are forcing the pantry to rethink how it keeps shelves stocked for thousands of St. Louis families each month.
“We are seeing more people turn to our pantry for help as higher grocery bills and gas prices place more pressure on family budgets,” said Matt Schindler, interim CEO of Jewish Family Services. “At the same time, federal food support has declined significantly. As a result, demand is increasing while resources are decreasing, creating a growing challenge for food pantries both in St. Louis and across the country.”
Measuring the shortage in truckloads
For Ryan Woolfolk, director of the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, those changes are measured in truckloads and pallets.
Last year, the pantry made five or six trips each month to the St. Louis Area Foodbank to pick up USDA food deliveries totaling between 85,000 and 90,000 pounds. Since Woolfolk joined the pantry in January, monthly pickups have ranged from about 14,000 to 41,000 pounds.
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“Losing 180,000 pounds of food has cut down on the variety of food that we have been able to offer our clients,” Woolfolk said. “We are receiving more shelf-stable foods versus fresh foods.”
Protein has become the biggest challenge
Protein has become one of the pantry’s biggest challenges.
“Last year, on our monthly USDA orders, we received 10 to 12 pallets of protein,” Woolfolk said. “This year we have been receiving two pallets.”
To make up the difference, JFS has dramatically increased its own purchasing.
“Last month, we purchased more than nine pallets of canned goods, two pallets of peanut butter and a pallet of canned tuna,” Woolfolk said. “To cover the shortages we have experienced, we are pulling food off our shelves to supplement the USDA program to make sure our clients receive seven to 10 days’ worth of food.”
Finding food wherever they can
Keeping the shelves stocked has also become a daily exercise in problem solving.
“Our procurement manager is making calls to multiple partners every morning inquiring about resources that may be available,” Woolfolk said.
What volunteers are seeing
Longtime volunteer Bob Tucker has seen those changes firsthand.
“The biggest difference seems to be in the amount and nature of the food being distributed,” Tucker said. “The pantry has always given a large quantity of food to clients, but lately there seem to be fewer meat and dairy options available and more carbohydrates, as well as more variability from week to week as to what is available.”
He said the difference is noticeable before a single client arrives.
“In walking through the warehouse, it is apparent there is less food than in recent years,” Tucker said.
Even so, Tucker said the experience continues to reinforce why volunteers keep returning.
“There is always a sense that during our shift we have truly helped many people,” he said. “The vast majority are very grateful for the work the pantry does. But there is always the sense that more could be done.”
No relief in sight
While federal food deliveries have increased slightly in recent weeks, Schindler said the broader outlook remains uncertain.
“While we have seen a slight uptick in federal food, we will need to add more financial resources into the food pantry to maintain our level of service,” Schindler said. “Unfortunately, we do not see relief for family budgets in the near future; therefore, the demand for food pantries will continue.”
For now, he said, JFS will continue adapting to ensure families have access to food despite shrinking federal resources.
“At JFS, we will continue to monitor the situation and work to find ways to best serve our community with shifting resources and increasing demand.”
