Impending federal cuts to food assistance under Trump’s recently passed economic bill threaten to stretch the capacities of Just Food, which is already seeing a spike in the number of residents registering for its services.
Just Food is both a pantry and food bank serving thousands of people onsite and at partner locations in Douglas County.
In all of 2024, Just Food served 5,752 households, equaling 12,469 individuals. Thus far in 2025, they have reached 4,484 families, or 10,065 individuals — nearly 81% of last year’s total over a span of less than eight months.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will undergo policy changes effective in 2028 that put the onus on individual states to finance the program.
According to reporting from the Kansas News Service, each state’s administrative cost for SNAP will increase, and fewer people will be able to access the program due to new work eligibility requirements. Kansas could face an increased bill of $41 million per year under new federal cost-sharing penalties for error rates in overpaying or underpaying SNAP recipients.
“We are always advocating for people to sign up for SNAP,” said Aundrea Walker, Just Food’s executive director. “It’s a beneficial program that helps so many families here in Douglas County. With the passing of this bill, I think it’s just going to be detrimental to anybody who loses benefits.”
In the last seven months, 730 new households, or 1,841 individuals, have signed up for the pantry. On average, folks walk away with 9 1/2 pounds, or just under $19 worth of food, during each weekly trip.
Just Food’s satellite programs have seen 59,537 visits this year so far.
“Just last Wednesday, we had 17 new households sign up (to access Just Food), and that’s prior to any SNAP cuts,” Walker said. “With the inflation of everything and the cost of housing here in Douglas County, it’s just getting harder and harder for families and individuals to make ends meet.”
Walker said that according to Just Food’s last annual shopper survey, 75% of their recipients do not benefit from SNAP. She attributes this, in part, to Kansas’ low utilization rate, and anticipates that the forthcoming stricter work eligibility requirements will shut many more folks out of the program.
Just Food announced in April that they would receive about 30% less food over the coming months for a program that feeds thousands of local people due to federal cuts to food assistance. Once the SNAP policy changes are fully active, Walker anticipates an even greater spike in the community’s need for Just Food’s services.
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to meet the need,” Walker said. “We’re already stretched really thin. It’s going to put even more stress on our services and our resources than we currently had.”
Walker underlined the need for community partners, donors and volunteers to continue bolstering Just Food’s work.
“Our community has our back, which is super important, and we’ll keep fighting the good fight,” Walker said.
Food resources in Lawrence
• People can sign up to shop at the Just Food pantry once a week by visiting any of their pantry locations in person and completing a brief shopper information form. Visitors can access the pantry immediately upon turning in the form during the same visit.
• Just Food also offers several programs geared toward addressing food insecurity. Programs cover provisioning of basic household needs and cooking supplies, how to grow food at home, how to cook and more.
• The Lawrence Farmers Market participates in a Double Up Food Bucks program. People with SNAP benefits can use their EBT card, and the market will match every dollar up to $25 on fruits, vegetables, and proteins such as eggs, meats, dairy and beans.
• The Lawrence Interdenominational Kitchen, or LINK, serves hot lunches to community members at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday each week. LINK is located at 221 W. 10th St. See additional times and locations for free meals in Lawrence at this link.
• The Ballard Center has a food and clothing pantry open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Access to the pantry is appointment-only. Call Ballard at 785-842-0729 to schedule a time. They also run a mobile food distribution program with Harvesters at the Douglas County fairgrounds on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.
• KU’s Campus Cupboard is open to university students, faculty, staff and affiliates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays. It is located in Suite 400 of the Kansas Memorial Union.
You can find more Lawrence food resources at the public library’s website here. Read the full Douglas County Food Resources guide here.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.
Note: This post has been corrected from a previous version.
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