USDA funding cuts will impact El Paso food banks

The USDA announced it will be cutting $1 billion of funding from two of their programs, one of them being the local food purchase assistance.

"Forget about meat or pork or chicken, I mean, as long as we have eggs, milk and tortillas of course, we're fine," said Blanca Ramos, an El Paso resident. "Food is the most stressful thing to think about."

On Thursday, ABC-7 went to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, which distributes food donations to the underserved community, after hearing the USDA announcement.

Ramos, a single mother and widow, was picking up food from the organization. She said she's worried it will become more difficult to feed herself and her son. 

"I don't know how we can survive honestly," she said. "But yeah, it's hard, it’s getting hard."

The funding initiated during the pandemic era to assist food banks with federal money to purchase food from local farms and suppliers.

"This food bank relies primarily on government and donated food," said Susan Goodell, CEO of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger. "You can see a lot of empty shelves behind me here today and that is a result of a lot of the uncertainty right now."

She told ABC-7 that they won't be able to fill all of the gaps left from all the funding cuts.

"Frankly, El Paso is a desert, very little food is produced here, so we must find food somewhere else in the region and bring it into El Paso," said Goodell.

The USDA says funding for program agreements will end two months after the announcement was made. 

A spokesperson of the agency released a statement, that said in part:

“... Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in CCC funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID era is over — USDA’s approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward.”  

Goodell said they have about $700,000 left to spend by May. 

Another resident, Martin Vallecillo told ABC-7 in Spanish that he's retired and the money the government sends him isn't enough.

He went to the food bank on Thursday morning to see what they can get to eat, and any leftover food they have, he'll give to less fortunate neighbors who he says sometimes don't have anything to eat.

"Everybody's struggling right now because of the economy," said Ramos. "And yeah, this is going to affect big time for everybody."