Millions of dollars worth of deliveries to food banks in six states have reportedly been abandoned without explanation – a move from the Trump administration that could cripple organizations' abilities to meet the needs of struggling families across the country.
That’s according to a new report in Politico, which highlighted Wednesday that the new development canceling $500 million allocated as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program for food banks deliveries comes after the USDA separately cut two other food programs. Those cuts pulled the plug on over $1 billion in federal spending lined up for schools and food banks to purchase goods from area farms.
“The collective cuts are expected to make it more difficult for food banks to meet families’ needs, with food prices now 20 percent higher than they were in 2020,” food bank leaders told Politico.
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“I certainly look at our lines and look at our shelves and say we need some relief,” Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, told the publication after reporting canceled deliveries. The organization has received no indication when they would resume.
Cathy Kanefsky, president of the Food Bank of Delaware, reported that “between 20 to 24 full truckloads of food” for the next four months had been scrapped. Another food bank operator, Natalie Caples, co-CEO of the Central California Food Bank, told Politico that the axed orders mean a loss of $850,000 worth of expected food deliveries – or about 500,000 pounds of food.
Chad Morrison, president of West Virginia’s Mountaineer Food Bank, told the publication it is “really challenging” to address the demand in his state.
“We can try to figure out how to make up the gaps, which is a hard lift, or ultimately there’s less food on the table,” Morrison said.