Several food banks have claimed that they are no longer receiving funds from the Agriculture Department without receiving an explanation.
The USDA allocated $500 million for food banks for the rest of the fiscal year through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Food bank leaders in six states confirmed to Politico that many of their previously approved orders have been canceled.
Central California Food Bank personnel told the outlet that they have lost 500,000 pounds of expected food deliveries worth $850,000 for April through July. Cathy Kanefsky, president of the Food Bank of Delaware, noted that 20 to 24 full truckloads of food have been canceled through the next four months.
“We can try to figure out how to make up the gaps, which is a hard lift, or ultimately there’s less food on the table,” Chad Morrison, the president of West Virginia’s Mountaineer Food Bank, told the outlet.
The money that was allocated, then cut, comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation, which is a New Deal-era fund that provides the USDA flexibility to assist farmers facing natural disasters or poor market conditions.
It is unclear how much of the $500 million that was allocated to the program has been cut.
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The move comes after the Trump administration cut two other programs accounting for $1 billion for schools and food banks to buy food from local farms. It also comes as Republican members of Congress attempt to shrink the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that aids 40 million low-income Americans in purchasing food.
The USDA did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.