Food banks scramble after USDA halts $500 million in deliveries
Source: CNN Politics
Published 8:19 AM EDT, Sat March 22, 2025
CNN — In the coming weeks, the shelves at dozens of food pantries in California’s Fresno County will be a little emptier. Visitors won’t be able to take home as many groceries, and their bags will contain fewer nutritious items like chicken, eggs, milk and cheese.
That’s largely because the US Department of Agriculture has halted $500 million in deliveries to food banks nationwide that the Biden administration announced last year, multiple food banks told CNN.
The Central California Food Bank, which distributes food to 60 pantries in the county, recently learned that 13 truckloads of groceries – worth $850,000 – set to be delivered between April and July were canceled. It comes at a time when many residents are struggling to afford food since supermarket prices remain high, said Natalie Caples, the food bank’s co-CEO.
“My food bank in Fresno can’t magically come up with $850,000 and 500,000 pounds of food to backfill that cancelation,” Caples said, noting that the nonprofit is already running at a deficit. “It means neighbors are getting less food when they show up at these distribution sites, and they’re getting a lesser variety of foods.”
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/politics/food-banks-usda-delivery-halt/index.html
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