Orange increases food pantry funding to address rising insecurity

The Town of Orange has proposed more than doubling the annual funding for its two local food pantries to address rising food insecurity. During a Town Council work session on August 3, Finance Director Dianna Gomez proposed an additional $10,000 for both the Good Samaritan and Love Outreach Food Pantries.

This increase would bring the total town contribution for each organization to $16,000 for the 2027 fiscal year. The additional funds are available due to a cost-saving measure involving a water treatment modernization project. The town secured an EPA waiver for its $200,000 cost-share requirement, as 14.8% of Orange households receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, exceeding the 11.7% threshold required for the waiver.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that Orange has a higher proportion of SNAP households than the state average, with 67.7% of those households including children.