Local food pantry says Trump administration's cuts to USDA impacting supply

USDA cuts impacting local and national food supply

There are growing concerns within food banks, school communities and small farms across the country about the Trump administration's cuts to the Department of Agriculture.

WASHINGTON - There are growing concerns within food banks, school communities and small farms across the country about the Trump administration's cuts to the Department of Agriculture.

Several groups in the D.C.region claim that the cuts are having a direct effect on our food supply.

What we know:

A Senate Agriculture Committee hearing was held on Wednesday to review the ongoing restructuring of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Trump administration announced that thousands of employees from D.C. will be relocated, saying this has been long overdue to cut wasteful spending.

USDA leadership defended the cuts as part of a larger mission to reduce federal spending. The Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, recently said that it’s a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to save our country from fiscal ruin."

Local perspective:

But for one food pantry in D.C., that's been around for decades, this means feeding hungry people or those dealing with food insecurity is going to be much more difficult.

"Especially during the summertime when children are home parents need to make ends meet, so this is the way to supplement," said Ray Burley, the manager at the So Others Might Eat (SOME) food pantry.

Ray Burley has been helping stock these shelves at the SOME pantry in D.C. for nine years. Typically, hundreds of families are fed every month. However, they say since the Trump administration's cuts to federal food programs at the USDA, demand is up but some of these shelves are left bare.

"We almost had to decrease the amount of food items that people could get just to stretch it out a little longer so we can serve more people so we’ve seen it impact that way and like I said times are just really hard for folks right now," Ray said.

Normally, the non-profit located on O Street—which has been serving residents for 55 years—operates on 80% of shelves full stocked. According to SOME’s president, inventory dropped as low as 30% and now sits closer to 50.

"A million people are served by SNAP, so reductions to that—we’re seeing a demand in our food pantry and across to our dining center where we serve 1/4 million meals a year," President and CEO Ralph Boyd said.

What you can do:

Boyd says just a few days ago, they made a plea to the community to help, and that call is slowly being answered.

Dozens and dozens of donations are helping keep this vital community food source stay alive.

"These Amazon packages have been coming in over the last week, week and a half," he said. "One thing I know for sure—we would not be able to do the work we do without the community. When I see this, I see people being able to sit down with their families and have a decent meal. I see joy…I see hope."

FOX 5 reached out to the USDA and the Trump administration for comment.

Meanwhile if you’d like to help, the pantry does have a food wishlist right now. You can find it at SOME.org.

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