Metro Atlanta food bank concerned about USDA cuts to local food programs
Some metro Atlanta food banks and pantries are now restructuring food distribution following the U.S. Department of Agriculture's cancellation of $1 billion in funding to local food programs.
'What kind of country are we that we would take food out of the mouths of children?' asked Elisabeth Omilami of Hosea Helps, one of the largest food banks in metro Atlanta.
The $1 billion in cuts will impact school programs and food banks that purchase food directly from local farmers.
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'And some of these farmers, they've just begun to get on economic standing and now the money that would go to them to get fresh fruit and vegetables to make sure people have good nutrition is gone,' Omilami told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington on Friday.
The decision came after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency promised to slash government spending.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff said the cut will hurt Georgia farmers and children and urged the administration to reverse course.
But Georgia GOP leaders said the cuts are necessary to streamline government waste.
'We spend $2 trillion a year more than we take in and that is not sustainable,' Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said.
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McKoon said most of the programs eliminated were created during the pandemic, when the need was more urgent.
'So, I think there's a lot of review going on of programs who may have been on the books longer than they should have been,' McKoon explained.
McKoon said the cuts will only impact USDA employees not those who are food insecure.
'It's not an appropriate time to panic,' McKoon added.
But workers at Hosea Helps are not convinced.
'To say that it's not going to hurt, well tell that to the kids who won't have a summer lunch,' Omilami said.
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