Page 5 - BusinessWest May 26, 2025

Andrew Morehouse says looming cuts to SNAP benefits and
Medicaid could greatly increase demand for services provided
by the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
cuts — especially to programs that safeguard the health and well-
being of our children and families — is an issue affecting more than
just those we serve.”
On May 2, said Blais, the president unveiled what’s known as
a ‘skinny budget,’ which did not list Head Start as a program to be
eliminated. But, as with that April 14 article, this latest report, while
reassuring, is by no means final.
“That budget is just a proposal that’s sent to Congress,” she said.
“That was a good sign, but we’re still waiting to see the budget that
Congress puts together before we exhale.”
There are many nonprofit managers and board members hold-
ing their collecting breath these days, including Andrew Morehouse,
executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts,
who said proposed cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assis-
tance Program) funding and Medicaid would dramatically increase
demand for the agency’s services at a time when demand is already
soaring due to inflation and a softening jobs market.
“For the fiscal year October of 2023
to September 2024, we saw a 30%
increase, and since then, we’ve seen
a 10% increase,” he said, adding that
this number will likely increase due to
tariffs and other forms of pressure on
consumers.
Meanwhile, several grants for area
programs and initiatives have already
been terminated, including:
• A $20 million grant from the
Environmental Protection Agency to
Springfield that was slated for home
energy retrofits, air pollution monitor-
ing, and de-leading of homes, an initia-
tive involving several area nonprofits;
• A $1 million EPA grant to address
asthma in Western Mass. through in-
home environmental remediations,
such as mold removal and improved
ventilation, in Chicopee, Holyoke, and
Springfield;
• A $50,000 National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA) grant to MASS-
MoCA in support of Jeffrey Gibson’s
“Power Full Because We’re Different” exhibition;
• A $400,000 funding package from the U.S. Department of Agri-
culture to the Food Bank for the fiscal year ending in August; and
• A $20,000 grant from the NEA to Amherst Cinema for its Bell-
wether series, which promotes “creative, thoughtful, and inventive
approaches to non-fiction cinema,” according to a statement from
the theater.
That list, and it is certainly just a partial list, shows that the cuts
have come across the broad spectrum of nonprofits, agencies in cat-
egories ranging from the arts to public health to food security.
Julie M. Quink, CPA and Deborah J. Penzias, CPA
Richard F. Burkhart, CPA and Salvatore J. Pizzanelli, CPA, JD, PFS
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WEEKDAYS on WHMP
“There’s still domestic
violence going on, there’s
still child abuse going on,
there’s still sex trafficking
going on, there’s still human
trafficking going on, and
there’s still stalking going
on. And that means that
the nonprofits in that arena
that do that work are being
stripped of the funding, and
the survivors aren’t able to
get the services they need.”
Talk the Talk 8-10 am
Bill Newman Buz Eisenberg
Rebroadcast 4-6pm
Stream: WHMP .com
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MAY 26, 2025
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