The 20 truckloads, or roughly 553,000 pounds of food, is valued at $1 million and was to include milk, eggs, chicken, pork and turkey.
CLEVELAND — The Greater Cleveland Food Bank (GCFB) reports that the Trump administration has canceled an order for over 500,000 pounds of food which had been scheduled to be received in Northeast Ohio between April and July of this year.
According to the GCFB, of the 30 truckloads of food orders from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation, 20 have been stopped. The 20 loads, or roughly 553,000 pounds of food, is valued at $1 million and was to include milk, eggs, chicken, pork and turkey.
The news comes as the Greater Cleveland Food Bank also deals with the impending loss of nearly a million pounds of food from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) this summer as part of cuts by the Trump administration.
Joree Novotny, Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, told 3News’ Monica Robins earlier this month that since Congress hasn’t appropriated permanent funding for the LFPA, which was started as part of the Biden administration’s Build Back Better initiative, the USDA is ending it in Ohio in July.
Amid federal cutbacks, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank is also dealing with uncertainty at the Ohio Statehouse. Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget calls for a nearly 25% reduction for food banks, roughly $7.5 million.
“This disruption comes at a critical time, as need remains high and food costs continue to rise. Last year, we served more than 424,000 individuals—nearly 25% of them seeking assistance for the first time. Continued, reliable USDA food deliveries are essential to meeting this demand and supporting families across our service area and the state of Ohio,” the GCFB stated in its update to 3News.
The GCFB noted that 46% of the food it distributed last year came from the state of Ohio and the USDA.
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