Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

Elissa Slotkin has joined 24 U.S. Senators to push for more information from the USDA about the cancellation of approved funding through the Emergency Food Assistance Program.

The program helps fund food banks and other emergency food providers.

The cancellation will “take food away from hungry Americans already facing high grocery prices and hurt American farmers who are being squeezed by tariffs and other cuts to domestic markets,” her press release said.

A recent article from MLive said 600,000 pounds of food originally headed to Michigan food banks have either been delayed or canceled by the USDA.

The letter penned by the Senators said the reported amount of funding canceled was in the “hundreds of millions.”

“A cancellation of these funds could result in $500 million in lost food provisions to feed millions of Americans at a time when the need for food shelves is extremely high due to costly groceries and an uncertain economy,” the letter said. “If true, this major shift in a program utilized by emergency food providers in every state in the nation will have a significant and damaging impact upon millions of people who depend upon this program for critical food assistance. In addition, this program consists of purchases of U.S. commodities at a time when America’s growers and producers are struggling due to tariffs, proposed tariffs, animal disease and many other challenges.”

According to the letter, about one in seven Americans have faced food insecurity, with many of those households using resources such as food banks and food pantries. Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks, said 50 million Americans used emergency food providers in 2023.

“While food banks rely on a variety of sources (including private) to obtain food for distribution through their networks, federally purchased commodities are a key part of how they provide nutritious meals to Americans,” the letter said.

The canceled deliveries, such as those mentioned by MLive, are full of fresh meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy.

This is the only program that could lose USDA funding.

“If confirmed, the cancellation of this previously announced funding also comes on top of the cancellation of Local Food for School Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program Funding, which also helps farmers deliver nutritious foods to schools and food banks,” the letter said. “These cuts will deprive Americans of food assistance, emergency food providers of necessary support to carry out their work and American farmers of vital domestic markets.”

The Senators included a number of questions aimed at understanding the decision. These questions include “Does USDA plan to cancel additional purchases of food provided through TEFAP? Is the funding announced on Oct. 1 2024 and detailed in the implementation memo that the Food and Nutrition Service sent to state agencies on Dec. 2 rescinded?”

They said they were requesting answers to the questions by the end of the week.

The full letter is linked below along with the MLive article.