Supply crisis: $1 million worth of food cut from RI Food Bank by USDA

Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse have written to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to stress the importance of the food deliveries

Show Caption

• The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is facing a loss of over 500,000 pounds of food due to federal assistance cuts.
• The cuts come at a time when the food bank is experiencing record demand and potential state funding reductions.
• Senators are questioning the USDA about the cancelled funding and its impact on food banks and American farmers.

Cuts in federal food assistance have left the Rhode Island Community Food Bank looking for a way to replace more than 500,000 pounds of food, worth over $1 million, to feed hungry Rhode Islanders through the end of September.

U.S. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed are drawing attention to the problem as they’ve joined 24 other senators in a letter to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The senators say the Trump Administration is “dramatically reducing aid for local food banks across the country” as grocery prices rise and more families rely on help from food banks and other sources. All of the senators signing the letter are Democrats, except for Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Angus King of Maine, who are independents.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank distributes food to its 147 member agencies, including food pantries and soup kitchens, across the state, helping to feed 84,400 hungry Rhode Islanders each month, a record number, according to the food bank.

“We’re facing an incredible challenge”

Fourteen truckloads, carrying 541,529 pounds of food and scheduled to arrive at the food bank between now and Aug. 18th, have officially been cancelled, according to Kate MacDonald, director of communications. “These canceled loads include important proteins like chicken, pork and eggs,” MacDonald said via email.

In the last fiscal year, 30% of the food bank’s food came from USDA commodities, while 42% was purchased and 28% came from donations, according to MacDonald. The food bank doesn’t receive federal funding, just food from the federal government.

Food bank is facing cuts from the state budget as well

The federal cuts in food deliveries are coming at a time when the food bank is in danger of losing some of its financial support from the state as well. Governor Dan McKee’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 lowers the food bank’s allocation from $800,000 to $550,000, according to MacDonald.

“At a time when we’re already serving more than 81,000 people per month, the cumulative effect of cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and school meals will have a catastrophic impact on Rhode Island families,” MacDonald said.

“If the food bank is hit with a cut to our state budget, a cut in the federal commodities we receive, plus increasing food costs due to the administration’s tariff policies, we’re facing an incredible challenge,” MacDonald said.

The federal government provides food to communities around the country through USDA programs such as The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), according to Whitehouse and Reed.

Senators say cuts hurt the hungry, as well as U.S. farmers

The senators describe TEFAP as a “core USDA nutrition program” that buys food from American farmers to provide food assistance to those in need. The senators say cuts to the program hurt the hungry, as well as American farmers.

“We write regarding the reported cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in previouslyapproved funding for food banks and other emergency food providers through The EmergencyFood Assistance Program (TEFAP),” the senators wrote to Rollins. “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,” the senators wrote. “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.”

There’s confusion around the federal government’s plans, and the senators say their letter asks Rollins key questions. The following are among those questions:

• 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?
• Does USDA plan to cancel additional purchases of food provided through TEFAP?
• 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? 

In 2023, the senators noted that 50 million Americans turned to emergency food providers like food banks and food pantries, 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,” the senators wrote.

In Rhode Island, nearly two out of five households have trouble affording adequate food, according to the food bank’s 2024 Status Report on Hunger in Rhode Island.