Cut the fat, not the food

Why did the USDA slash hundreds of millions of dollars aimed at food banks?

food bank with empty shelves

Eliminating unnecessary government spending is a smart plan by the Trump Administration. Even so, the cuts are not always welcomed. At times, they are confuddling.

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) halted millions of dollars of deliveries to food banks around the country. The effects were swift.

• The Greater Cleveland Food Bank reported it would not be receiving 550,000 pounds of milk, eggs, chicken, pork, turkey and other foods that were scheduled to be delivered between April and July. The food bank serves more than 400,000 people a year in a six-county region.

• The East Texas Food Bank learned this week that it would not be receiving 300,000 pounds of food from the USDA. The cuts also affected the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which helps food banks buy from local and regional producers.

• In Bakersfield, California, the Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) announced that the bonus loads of food it usually receives from the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program had been canceled. That equates to 3.5 million pounds of food.

So far, the USDA has not made a statement about the cuts. It’s possible that, as with other cuts made by government departments, the food distributions will be reinstated. But why make these changes in the first place? It’s not too much to ask USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins this question.

USDA General Hotline: 202.720.2791

AskUSDA@usda.gov

Sec. Rollins on X: https://x.com/SecRollins