'Going to be a lot of hungry people': Food banks, farmers across US decry federal cuts
Source: USA Today
Published 8:01 a.m. ET March 31, 2025
The abrupt cancellation of government funding for programs to help food banks distribute healthy, local food is being felt across the country, as some already strapped organizations turn to their local communities for help. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was cutting more than $1 billion in funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement programs for 2025.
The money was designed to pay farmers to provide food to schools and food banks, giving a boost to local producers while giving fresh options to children and communities. Then, food banks were hit with another blow when they were informed that scheduled deliveries of food through the USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program were being halted or cut back. The cuts come as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency target a long list of government programs and federal jobs for sweeping cuts in recent months.
The USDA told USA TODAY that the LFPA cuts were a "return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives." Food producers and food banks that participated in the axed programs say they will have less food to give to their communities. And rural communities will be hit the hardest because they depend the most on USDA-funded programs for the food distributed by food banks, said Vince Hall, chief government relations officer of the nonprofit Feeding America.
"The reality is that the food banking system is stressed to the breaking point right now because we're seeing record-high demand and diminished resources," Hall told USA TODAY. "Folks who came to us during the pandemic have found it impossible to ease out of dependency on food banks because inflation has made so many of their monthly budget essentials more expensive than ever."
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/31/funding-cuts-food-banks-farmers/82705776007/
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There is also a shelter in town, housed in a former Lutheran church. This Sunday the pastor announced that due to federal cuts, the shelter won't be receiving any protein. No chicken, beef, pork, etc. My church's lunchtime ministry program won't be affected much because we get the food from parishioners and restaurants' donations. The shelter will definitely struggle to feed a balanced meal to their guests. I abhor Trump and the rest of these GOP people!! They're the underbelly of the country, mean, cruel and petty.
I'm angry at the ones who were not MAGA cultists, but couldn't convince themselves to vote for Kamala. I'm also upset at the millions who simply chose not to vote. These people enabled Trump to become president.
