Barnstable County briefed on surging food insecurity; partners urge investment in infrastructure

Barnstable County commissioners opened a sustained discussion on food insecurity after a detailed briefing from the county's Cooperative Extension and more than a dozen partner organizations.

Andrea Scarpalini, the county's food access coordinator, framed the problem: "In the past year in 1 year alone, we saw an increase in food security needs from 20% to 34%." She and Mike McGuire of the Cooperative Extension said federal support has fallen even as demand rises, and called for regional coordination to reduce duplication and expand food-rescue and distribution capacity.

Representatives from pantries and food organizations described the scale of need and proposals for infrastructure: Laurie Rome of Hands of Hope said the pantry served 3,431 households (15,401 family members) in 2025 and reported a 15% growth since 2022; Lower Cape Outreach described a 150% increase in pantry usage since 2022. Katie Wibbe said her nonprofit is under contract to purchase a 13,000-square-foot warehouse in Orleans to centralize cold storage, processing and distribution for the Lower and Outer Cape.

Fisheries and food-rescue partners highlighted programs pairing local seafood with pantries; Seth Rollbein described the Small Boats Big Taste program, which has supplied millions of servings to food banks. Family Table Collaborative and other groups emphasized that substantial donated food cannot be used at scale without refrigeration, repackaging and logistics capacity.

After hearing the presentations, commissioners unanimously authorized county staff to organize a fall "hunger summit" to convene stakeholders and develop actionable recommendations for infrastructure, funding and coordination.