The Central Texas Food Bank is grappling with the adverse effects of funding cuts implemented during the Trump administration, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reduced over a billion dollars in funding for essential programs that assist food banks and enable schools to purchase goods from local farmers.
Within just two weeks following the announcement, the food bank had to cancel 39 loads of food, according to Beth Corbett, vice president of government affairs and advocacy at Central Texas Food Bank.
These canceled deliveries included critical items such as pantry staples, dairy products, vegetables, and various meats including turkey, pork, and chicken.
Corbett highlighted that the total loss equates to nearly 913,000 pounds of food, which translates to approximately 716,000 meals.
This situation unfolds as demand for food assistance is rising and grocery prices remain stubbornly high.
Central Texas Food Bank, headquartered in Austin, provides support to over 93,000 families each month across a 21-county area.
Corbett expressed concerns that the organization anticipates a further increase in demand.
“We’re actually serving more people now than we did at the peak of the pandemic and really don’t see any signs of that slowing,” she remarked.
In Texas, the food insecurity rate stands at 16.9%, making it the second highest in the nation, significantly surpassing the national average by nearly 5%.
According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, the state has lost over $107 million aimed at programs that allowed food banks and schools to source food locally.
Corbett mentioned that as a result of these changes and funding cuts, individuals visiting food pantries may find a diminished variety of available products.
Currently, the Central Texas Food Bank is spending approximately a million dollars monthly to procure food in response to these shortfalls.
However, one deficit that cannot be offset is a program that the food bank had been supporting through local school districts.
The USDA has canceled the 2025 funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program.
This program had previously enabled school districts to purchase produce and other food items from local farms to provide to their students.
The Central Texas Food Bank was collaborating with Lake Travis ISD, Manor ISD, and Florence ISD to facilitate access to locally grown goods.
Lianka Soliz, senior director of food and nutrition services and transportation at Lake Travis ISD, explained that the district has a longstanding commitment to offering local foods in its cafeterias, but the Local Food for Schools program was instrumental in enhancing their supply chain for procuring products from farmers to the schools.
“I think bottomline what the funding let us do that was different from what we were doing before was…really work to perfect that infrastructure that allowed us to get the food in easier and in a more predictable manner,” Soliz said.
The partnership allowed Lake Travis ISD to serve a variety of local items including lunchbox peppers, kale, sweet potatoes, chicken, and beef.
“So our hamburger patties that we are serving are local,” she noted.
Lake Travis ISD had until March 31 to use the funds for this program, but Soliz affirmed that the district remains committed to sourcing food from nearby farmers even without the grant.
While the repercussions of USDA funding cuts continue to evolve, Corbett stated that food banks are well-equipped to adapt to changes.
“We’re in the business of emergency food access and distribution every day, [we] can play a key role in the creation of new programs that might emerge under the new administration,” she explained.
However, she cautioned that if federal funding cuts persist, the implications could be severe.
“I think we would unfortunately expect less food to be available for the families we serve,” she concluded.
image source from：https://www.kut.org/education/2025-04-16/central-texas-food-bank-austin-usda-funding-cuts
