Federal Funding Cuts Hit Food Banks Farmers Across Country

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. In early March, 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... A donation bin sits near shelves with canned foods at the San Francisco Food Ban in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption A donation bin sits near shelves with canned foods at the San Francisco Food Ban in San Francisco, California.

Americans were already worried about the price of groceries in the run up to the 2024 election. Now, millions of meals aren't making it to tables across the U.S.That's due to cuts to the Department of Agriculture, specifically to programs funding farms, schools, and food banks. Food banks are in an especially tough spot. They're struggling to keep up with a rise in demand despite falling budgets.A new report from Feeding America found that people in every county are experiencing hunger. In some areas, child food insecurity is as high as 50 percent. The pinch felt at food banks comes as SNAP benefits are on the chopping block in the Republican's reconciliation bill.

Food bank managers say demand is compounded by recent cuts in federal funding. Food bank shortages caused by high demand and cuts to federal aid programs have some residents of a small community that straddles Idaho and Nevada growing their own food to get by. For those living in Duck Valley, a reservation of about 1,000 people that is home to the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, there's just one grocery store where prices are too high for many to afford, said... The next-closest grocery stores are more than 100 miles away in Mountain Home, Idaho and Elko, Nevada. And the local food bank's troubles are mirrored by many nationwide, squeezed between growing need and shrinking aid. Reggie Premo, a community outreach specialist at the University of Nevada-Reno Extension, grew up cattle ranching and farming alfalfa in Duck Valley.

He runs workshops to teach residents to grow produce. Premo said he has seen increased interest from tribal leaders in the state worried about high costs while living in food deserts. "We're just trying to bring back how it used to be in the old days," Premo said, "when families used to grow gardens." March was not a good month for food banks. Early in March, food banks found out that $500 million for LFPA, a popular federal program that gives them money to buy food from local farms and ranchers, would go away. Toward the end of the month, they learned that another $500 million allocated toward TEFAP, a staple of federal food bank funding, would also end.

While food banks have long taken setbacks in funding in stride, the aggressiveness of the combined $1 billion of cuts are expected to take a toll. In Texas, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank has already announced that 20% of its agency partners and 20% of its mobile pantries will no longer receive food from it. Whether food banks measure the cuts in pounds, truckloads, or dollar value, they will likely feel the blow. “It’s a big hit, that’s for sure,” said Brian Greene, CEO of Houston Food Bank, which expects its allocation for TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) to be cut by about 40% or about... 1/ The origin of the cuts makes them somewhat less surprising As President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to lower inflation by reducing government spending, Americans are finding out the very programs putting healthy, affordable foods on their plates are on the chopping block.

A pair of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs — one that funds the purchase of local farm-fresh foods for school cafeterias and another that funds much of the product available in food banks — were cut for... In addition to the $660 million slashed from school food programs, the USDA cut $500 million specifically intended to help food banks and domestic agriculture. The latter came from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) branch of the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Food banks around the country had been counting on that $500 million to feed millions of families and individuals experiencing hunger this year. They use these funds to make purchases within the domestic food supply chain, and many months’ worth of orders already placed by food banks have now been canceled.

TODAY.com spoke with nine regional food banks, as well as a representative from Feeding America, to understand how these changes are affecting those relying on this food across the country. Federal funding cuts and freezes mean food banks nationwide have less food to distribute to the growing number of Americans experiencing food insecurity, Reuters reports. Food insecurity has been rising significantly in recent years—from 10.2% of American households (13.5 million households) in 2021 to 12.8% (17 million households) in 2022. The most recent data shows that hunger rates are continuing to increase. USDA reports that 13.5% (18 million) of households in the U.S. were food insecure during 2023—a statistically significant increase from the previous year.

That translates to more than 47 million people, including more than seven million children, struggling to get enough food. Since EJI started providing support to people experiencing food insecurity in 2022, the number of families seeking assistance has skyrocketed. Let’s all say it: we’re living in a strange time. As food insecurity continues to rise to its highest point in over a decade, we’re seeing cut after federal cut to piece apart welfare programs that provide millions of Americans with fresh, nutritious food. Below, we include a breakdown of everything you need to know about the impact of these cuts on local food banks and communities. After a decade of decline, we’ve seen a steady rise in food insecurity the past two years.

Why is that? Food prices are up 24% since 2020, but the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant for the last 16 years. Pandemic era support has ended. Millions of families are struggling to keep up with expensive housing, bills, and putting healthy food on the table. Meanwhile, further cuts to government food assistance programs such as SNAP loom overhead. These changes will further impact food insecurity and make it harder for millions of Americans to find reliable, nutritious food.

What’s clear is: More support is needed, NOT less. Did you know: 62% of SNAP participants are families with children? The bottom line: Increased federal cuts = more food insecurity. In early March, the USDA announced over $1 billion in cuts, the impacts of which are already being felt in food banks around the country: Food banks are struggling to meet rising demand from needy Americans as the federal government slashes funding for programs to feed the hungry. Advocates worry that cuts to food stamp programs will worsen the hunger crisis.

(AP Video/Terry Chea) CORRECTS TITLE TO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - The Campaign Against Hunger Chief Executive Officer Melony Samuels sits in her office in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/James Pollard) Kim Dennis, 65, visits The Campaign Against Hunger’s distribution center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/James Pollard) People line up for groceries outside The Campaign Against Hunger’s distribution center in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

(AP Photo/James Pollard) Volunteers pack produce at the Alameda County Community Food Bank in Alameda, Calif., on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Updated on: March 13, 2025 / 10:56 AM EDT / CBS News The U.S. Department of Agriculture is cutting two federal programs that provided about $1 billion in funding to schools and food banks to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers, part of what the...

The move cancels about $660 million in funding this year for the Local Food for Schools program, which is active in 40 U.S. states, as well as about $420 million for a second program called the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement, which helps food banks and other local groups provide food to their communities. "USDA can confirm it has provided notice to States, Territories and Tribes that the FY 2025 funding previously announced for the pandemic-era Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement and pandemic-era Local... The decision comes as the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, say they are slashing federal spending to reduce government waste. The USDA programs were funded through the agency's Commodity Credit Corporation, a Depression-era fund created to buy products directly from farmers.

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