April 2, 2025
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a virtual press conference slamming the Trump administration’s massive cuts to funding for food banks.
Last month, President Trump slashed $1 billion in federal funding used to purchase food for food banks and other organizations that provide meals, like schools and child care centers. Now, he is canceling another $500 million in already approved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). New York receives roughly $30 million through TEFAP each year in regular funding; this supplemental money would have funded additional food purchases at New York’s regional food banks and their partner soup kitchens and food pantries.
Senator Gillibrand was joined by CEO of Hunger Free America Joel Berg.
“Seventy-two days into Trump’s presidency, grocery prices are still sky-high, with no sign of improvement on the horizon,” said Senator Gillibrand. “And as hungry families turn to food banks and soup kitchens for help, Trump is now slashing the funding they rely on. It’s outrageous. Programs like TEFAP have overwhelming bipartisan support. They help serve every community – rural, urban, Democratic, Republican – in every state in times of need. They are not an extraneous expense; they are an investment in healthy kids, healthy families, and healthy futures. I am calling on the Trump administration to provide answers on what plans – if any – it has to keep Americans from going hungry after these cuts, and I will be doing everything in my power to reverse them.”
The full text of Senator Gillibrand’s letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins on cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program is available here or below.
Dear Secretary Rollins:
We write regarding the reported cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in previously approved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). A cancellation of these funds could result in $500 million in lost food provisions to feed millions of Americans at a time when the need for food shelves is extremely high due to costly groceries and an uncertain economy. If true, this major shift in a program utilized by emergency food providers in every state in the nation will have a significant and damaging impact upon millions of people who depend upon this program for critical food assistance.
In addition, this program consists of purchases of U.S. commodities at a time when America’s growers and producers are struggling due to tariffs, proposed tariffs, animal disease and many other challenges.
According to recent statistics, nearly one in every seven Americans have faced food insecurity. Many of these households turn to community and emergency relief organizations such as food banks and food pantries to help them obtain sufficient nutrition. In 2023 alone, 50 million Americans turned to emergency food providers, according to a report from Feeding America, America’s largest network of food banks. While food banks rely on a variety of sources (including private) to obtain food for distribution through their networks, federally purchased commodities are a key part of how they provide nutritious meals to Americans.
Due to this reported change, a number of us have heard that trucks delivering American-grown foods may not arrive. These trucks represent hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals containing poultry, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. If confirmed, the cancellation of this previously announced funding also comes on top of the cancellation of Local Food for School Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program funding, which also helps farmers deliver nutritious foods to schools and food banks. These cuts will deprive Americans of food assistance, emergency food providers of necessary support to carry out their work, and American farmers of vital domestic markets.
To help us understand USDA’s actions and their impact on communities around the country, we ask that you answer the following questions.
1. Has USDA cancelled previously approved purchases of food provided through TEFAP? If so, what level of funding has been cancelled thus far and when will state agencies be notified of any cancelled TEFAP purchases?
2. Does USDA plan to cancel additional purchases of food provided through TEFAP?
3. Has USDA paused any TEFAP food orders or purchases? If so, what is the current status of those orders or purchases? Does USDA intend to un-pause these funds?
4. Please provide information on what types of funding, by commodity, have been cancelled and the financial impact of those cancellations on producers such as pork, chicken, turkey and dairy farmers.
5. Is the funding announced on October 1, 2024 and detailed in the implementation memo that the Food and Nutrition Service sent to state agencies on December 2 rescinded?
6. Does USDA intend to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds in Fiscal Year 2025 for future purchases that will be distributed through TEFAP?
We ask for a prompt response to these questions by the end of the week.
Sincerely,
