Orders cancelled but shelves remain stocked at food banks through USDA cuts

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – One billion dollars cut from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is starting to trickle down, according to the Federation of Virginia Food Banks.

Roughly half of those cuts were to the Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP, from which organizations like the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank receive substantial funding.

“One hundred thirty orders of food that food banks had placed that are now showing up as cancelled in the system,” said Eddie Oliver, Executive Director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks. “So when cuts like this come out of left field, it can leave us scrambling.”

This comes as food banks have been seeing a steady rise in demand since the pandemic. According to Oliver, food banks across the Commonwealth saw a 20% rise in demand from 2023 to 2024.

“We’re already kind of stretched to the limit in terms of spending money on food,” Oliver said.

Now, Virginia’s food banks are being hit with a $3.5-million reduction in federal funding this year.

“It’s not an insurmountable cut, but it’s definitely going to take a little bit of extra work on our part,” Oliver said.

Seven hundred thousand Virginians receive help from food banks. Blue Ridge Area Food is one of seven in the region, and receives roughly 25% of its funding from USDA.

Les Sinclair, is the food bank’s communications manager said it is holding up amidst the cuts and uncertainty.

“These cuts are definitely headline worthy,” Sinclair said. “The reality is, it’s impacting us minimally. We plan very far ahead.”

A 10% funding cut is noticeable, Sinclair explained, but not a death knell for the food bank.

“If you imagine 10% of your grocery store going away, as long as the staples are there, you probably wouldn’t notice that maybe one brand of Italian dressing is missing,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair said over the years, the food bank has survived a lot. He believes these funding cuts will be no different.

However, Sinclair said, the food bank wants to take an active role in its fate. Facing cuts from federal agencies, its turning to Congress for support, calling for the passage of a fortified Farm Bill in 2025.

“The Farm Bill comes up for reauthorization every five years, and we’re advocating for a very strong bipartisan farm bill that supports farmers and food banks,” Sinclair said. “That is very important to us.”

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