CLEVELAND — Emmanuel Baptist Church has been a saving grace for many people in need of help by putting food on the table.
"I have EBT, but that doesn't help for everything. We still have to go to the food banks to get hot meals for our children," said community member Denise James.
The church's Cotton Mills program provides hot meal distribution and delivery services to anyone in need.
"A lot of people cannot afford the prices of food the way it is, or they can't afford a ride to get the food here. So, this is why we do this," said Manager Lillian Morris.
But they may not have these resources for long. Federal funding for this program and 16 others in Cuyahoga County has been frozen since January.
"We're hoping that this program is not cut because there's such a need for it," said Morris.
The Hunger Network is one of Cuyahoga County's largest food providers, channeling federal dollars to participants in the hot meals program. The money comes from FEMA through the Emergency Food and Shelter program.
"Last year, we were awarded $109,000 of these funds," said Hunger Network CEO Julie Johnson.
However, in January, after President Donald Trump took office, his administration initiated a comprehensive review of federal spending programs.
"The voters in November were crystal clear, they didn't want any more waste, fraud and abuse in government. And they want a government that's efficient, that works and spends taxpayer dollars wisely," said Sen. (R) Bernie Moreno.
However, six months into the review of the FEMA program, it remains unclear whether those funds will ever be released.
"Unfortunately, this administration has put this organization in a position where they have to utilize general fund, and that shouldn't be the case," said Rep. (D) Shontel Brown.
Rep. Brown and 47 other members of the House wrote FEMA in April asking about the status of the program. She told News 5 that there has been no response.
"Congress appropriated these funds, and these are funds that have already been approved in a bipartisan way. The sad reality is that this is a program that has been in place for decades," said Brown.
Over the last six months, the Hunger Network has utilized more than $50,000 from its general fund to sustain the hot meals program, which provides 3,500 meals per month.
"Feeding our communities is so important to us, and we want to make sure the folks in need are receiving this food. "It's working families, and it's not just folks living off welfare or anything like that. They are folks working two or three jobs to put meals on the table, and their income level is just not enough that they can provide funding for all that they need for food, for heat, for prescriptions or for childcare purposes," said Johnson.
But their budget can't sustain completely funding these organizations, and at the end of June, the hunger network was forced to discontinue its subsidy of the program. Emmanuel Baptist Church has sufficient funding to continue feeding its clients through July. But they are unsure where they can find money to keep it going after that. However, they are scrambling now for solutions.
"They have some things at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank that we would be able to get. It's more like staple foods, but that wouldn't always be a whole, nutritious meal. But it is something, and it's more than nothing. We may have to ask for money from members of our congregation, that is another way that we can keep it going but I don't know how long that could last either," said Morris.
