The Trump administration has cut nearly a billion dollars in food aid, creating a scarcity crisis at food banks across the United States. A decades-old emergency food system supported by the USDA is being eroded by government spending cuts.

USDA’s Section 32 account is a permanent appropriation of 30% of all the gross receipts of Customs, since 1935. That would include –> tariffs<–. Apparently we are taking in $trillions in tariffs so that cup should runneth over. That money goes to fund farmers in various ways like and such as buying and diverting surplus products to the needy, child nutrition programs.

So where is the money going?

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12193

I volunteer at a food bank every month, and the shipments have decreased in quality and quantity since Trump took office. We used to get lots of frozen meats and fish, dairy such as fresh milk, eggs and cheese (usually processed cheese, but it’s perfectly usable), fresh fruits and vegetables, on a consistent basis.

Those items still come through occasionally now, but we’re mostly giving out canned foods, dry beans and rice, bags of potatoes and apples. Canned meat instead of frozen. Eggs and cheese are gone. A couple of weeks ago we got 3 frozen turkeys for a town of 230 people. At the same time, we have more people showing up each time than we used to.