NORFOLK, Va. — The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia & Eastern Shore is facing a major setback as they say more of their federal funding has been cut.
They say their federal food orders through the emergency food assistance program were canceled. This means the foodbank won't get $400,000 worth of food they were expecting.
"There’s a lot of senior citizens that come in that depend on this food because they don’t receive food stamps. I’m disabled and it comes in handy for me too," Mary Simpson, a recipient of the foodbank said.
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Simpson has lived in the Young Terrace neighborhood in Norfolk for 30 years.
She gets food from the Young Terrace Community Center that’s run by the foodbank twice a month.
"These programs are put here for the people that need it. Making cuts is more chaos," Simpson said.
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Daryl Wiggins with the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia says rising food prices has led to the foodbank not being able to afford some food.
"Because eggs have gotten so expensive, they’ve been taken off the menu to order," Wiggins said.
"When they were giving out eggs and milk, I never had to buy eggs and milk," Simpson said.
Chris Tan, the CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and Eastern Shore says USDA food orders for May and June were cancelled through the federal government’s emergency food assistance program.
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"The orders that were cut have a value of $400,000 in food. We’re going to try to raise more money, ask the community for help," Tan said.
These new cuts come on the heels of the food purchase funding being cut.
The USDA paused half of program's funding as they are reviewing the program.
This comes as the Trump administration makes cuts to the federal government in an effort to save.
"President Trump had a very touching moment on the campaign trail where he was serving French fries at McDonald’s. The people working at McDonald's are the same people coming to our foodbank for help. These are working salaries in America where their salary doesn’t make enough to fulfill their food budget. I hope that as the administration wrestles with what to fund, realize that those are the people we’re serving," Tan said.
