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.
Food banks already grappling with rising needs told Reuters they will now have less food to distribute after USDA made more than $1 billion in federal funding cuts and pauses earlier this month.
USDA has paused half the funding ($500 million) for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), a core nutrition program that purchases U.S. commodities for emergency food providers that help households obtain sufficient nutrition, Reuters reports.
In 2023 alone, according to Feeding America, more than 50 million people turned to food banks, food pantries, and community organizations for food assistance.
USDA also cancelled two federal programs that helped schools and food banks buy fresh food directly from local farmers—the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which would have funded about $500 million this year for food banks, and the $660 million Local Food for Schools program.
In a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins this week, a group of 26 U.S. Senators said the cancellation of previously approved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers in every state will have a “significant and damaging impact upon millions of people.”
A spokesperson told Reuters that USDA is still making purchases for food banks, but in interviews with food banks in seven states, Reuters learned that food banks already are seeing reduced deliveries of produce, meat, and other staples.
The head of Mountaineer Food Bank in West Virginia told Reuters that 40% of the cheese, eggs, and milk they were expecting from TEFAP for April have been canceled. A Kern County, California, food bank that depended on TEFAP for about half the food it distributes has seen deliveries paused and will run out of supplies in two to six months. The funding cuts and freezes have halted a program in Illinois that helped local farmers provide food boxes to food pantries.
About 32 truckloads of food for Feeding America West Michigan have been delayed or canceled by USDA, MLive reports.
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank said it discovered on Tuesday that 553,000 pounds of food it was expecting have been canceled. “These are cuts to really effective programs that not only provide healthy food to people in need but also support farmers,” President and CEO Kristin Warzocha told Cleveland.com. “This is a terrible disappointment and is going to make our work significantly more difficult.”
Farmers are reeling from the sudden loss of a vital market for their poultry, fruits, vegetables, and dairy.
An Iowa farmer who sold about 20% of her pasture-raised turkeys and pork to food banks through LFPA told Reuters the cuts were “devastating.”
Charlotte-based Nourish Up provided groceries to more than 164,000 families last year alone. With inflation making food more expensive, CEO Tina Postel said her organization is bracing themselves to face increasing demand for help with fewer resources.
“Just last year, we fed more people than we ever had any year on record,” she told WBTV. Thirty percent of the food Nourish Up distributes comes from USDA. “So, to hear about cuts, we’re quite frankly terrified.”