USDA plans to close Alexandria headquarters and relocate DC area staff

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday a mass reorganization of the agency, as well as plans to vacate one of its headquarters in Alexandria and have staff members move away from the Greater Washington area. 

What we know:

Alexandria houses the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which offers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and specialized sister program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) along with other services to improve food security and reduce hunger. 

In a statement, George Machell, president of the National WIC Association, opposed the relocation.

"Relocating key staff and dismantling regional offices will sever decades of institutional knowledge, weaken quality control, delay critical services, and create unnecessary barriers for state agencies and families who rely on WIC. This reorganization is not about efficiency. It’s deliberate sabotage," said Machell Thursday. 

The other side:

However, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins views the change as an essential revamping after a thorough review of the agency’s efficiency.

The USDA claims its D.C. metro area headquarters are costly and not utilized enough. 

To combat this, federal employees could move to these five cities chosen by the USDA: Raleigh, N.C Kansas City, M.O., Indianapolis, Ind., Fort Collins, Colo., and Salt Lake City, Utah. 

In a press release, the USDA states its reason for relocation is "to bring USDA closer to the people it serves while also providing a more affordable cost of living for USDA employees." 

What's next:

The USDA is reaching out to offices in the National Capital Region in the upcoming month to offer more information to federal employees on the relocation to the listed cities.