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USA Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Federal cuts hit farmers and food banks: 'It really hurts'
Federal cuts hit farmers and food banks: 'It really hurts' The federal cuts were announced months ago, but farmers and food banks are now seeing the impacts of missed deliveries and canceled orders. Show Caption Hide Caption Farmers brace for cuts to USAID and USDA Farmers, who already operate under thin margins, said funding cuts to programs like USAID, USDA and a new trade war were concerning. Sylvia Tisdale believes in feeding the hungry so much that, at 70 years old, she attempted to climb Mount Kiliminjaro to raise awareness about food insecurity. "The altitude got me," she said with a small chuckle, "but my daughter made it." Three years later, the pastor at Epps Christian Center in Pensacola, Florida, is still passionate about the work she and her volunteers do to feed the hungry. So when one of those volunteers, Mike Stephens, wrote to his local newspaper to highlight the impact of cuts by the Trump Administration to limit expenditures to food pantries and soup kitchens through the United States Department of Agriculture, she understood why. "It hits people hard when they come and can't get as much food," she told USA TODAY, "and it really hurts my volunteers when they have to turn people away." The USDA announced cuts in March to the Local Food Purchase Assistance program and a similar program, the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement totaling more than $1 billion. Scheduled deliveries of food through the USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program were halted or cut back. The programs are meant to help farmers by paying them for fresh produce that can be distributed to food banks, pantries and schools. It aimed to supply students and people in need with healthy, locally-sourced food. The cuts came as part of the Trump Administration's wider efforts to root out what it considers wasteful spending. When the cuts were announced, multiple outlets cited USDA statements saying the programs were no longer in line with the agency's goals. In a Feb. 13 letter to state and local officials, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the USDA has a "historic opportunity to improve nutrition programs to better serve individuals who need additional support." "Our shared goal should be to lift millions of Americans out of dependency and into hopeful futures and unimagined possibilities," she wrote. "It will require tireless energy and new and innovative approaches to long-ignored problems." USA TODAY has reached out to the USDA for further comment. Pensacola isn't the only place feeling the impact of cuts to federal food programs. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro recently filed a lawsuit to stop the USDA's elimination of the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which provides funds for farmers who supply local food banks with fresh produce. Across the country, food banks and the farmers who supply them with the help of federal funds say the cuts are starting to hurt their bottom lines and their ability to feed people in need. 'Clients left crying' Stephens, the volunteer at Epps Christian Center, wrote to the Pensacola News Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, when a truck full of food they'd expected didn't arrive. "I felt it was sad that a large number of homeless citizens were turned away due to this situation," Stephens wrote in a letter published June 3. "...Clients were left crying in the rain and shivering under the trees without food and groceries." The center serves as many as 300 cars at drive-up food distributions and dozens of homeless people at its soup kitchen, Stephens noted in his letter. Tisdale started the distribution 17 years ago when she saw day laborers early one morning outside a nearby business and made them breakfast. More than 15% of the people in Escambia County are food-insecure, so Tisdale, seeing a need, opened a soup kitchen in one of her church buildings for homeless people and started food distributions for others in need. So far, Tisdale said, the community has helped pick up the slack from the loss of other food sources. But she worries for her clients, most of whom are working people who just need help making ends meet between paychecks. "We are a staple in this community," said Tisdale. "We're open when others aren't." Still, she acknowledged, they've "always operated on a shoestring." "These cuts have affected everybody and every household," she said. For farmers, 'every little bit helps' Tom Croner is a seventh-generation farmer growing corn, soybeans and wheat in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. He said losing LFPA funding will cut into the already-slim margins for him and many other farmers. "Every little bit helps in that respect," Croner told part of the USA TODAY Network. LFPA funds also help farmers employ more sustainable practices than they might otherwise use, he added. Pennsylvania officials say the program benefits both families and the state's agricultural industry: More than $28 million in federal funding goes to 189 farmers, who have supplied nearly 26 million pounds of food to food banks and pantries; and people in need get access to healthy, locally sourced food. The cuts extend well beyond Florida and Pennsylvania: About $11.3 million in Iowa, about $21 million in Arizona, and about $2 million in Delaware. And that's just some of the states seeing significant cuts to food programs. The Iowa Farmers Union, a coalition of family farmers, said in a statement to the Des Moines Register (part of the USA TODAY Network) the impact of federal cuts "is immediate and devastating," adding that "producers who have already planned over $3 million in food sales in 2025 through these programs now face sudden financial uncertainty.' Some small farmers could find themselves facing bankruptcy, said Chris Schwartz, executive director of the Iowa Food System Coalition. More people in need, less food to give them Loree Jones Brown is CEO of Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit and part of the Feeding America network that works with more than 350 community-based organizations to distribute food throughout a nine-county area in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey. She said food pantry operators tell Philabundance they're seeing more people than ever as housing, health care, food and other basic costs of living keep rising. At the same time, there is less food to distribute as a result of federal funding cuts. Still, she said she's hopeful that, even if some funding sources go away, the Trump Administration will provide other ways to feed hungry people in the U.S. Feeding America's Mind the Meal Gap map has a national county-by-county breakdown; Jones Brown said in the nine-county region served by Philabundance, the number of people who have food insecurity went from about 500,000 people in 2021 to 600,000 in 2022 and 629,000 in 2023 (the last year for which they have data). "Clearly, those numbers are moving in the wrong direction," Jones Brown said. Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Bethany Rodgers,
CBS News
13-05-2025
- CBS News
Family mourns loss of beloved father in fiery Hollywood crash
The family of a beloved dad and barber is heartbroken after he was killed in a fiery crash on Mother's Day in Hollywood. Relatives describe Douglas Freeman, 49, father of four, as a man who always found a way to make others smile. Victim remembered as joyful and loving "People came to know and love him. It was good knowing him—he was going to make a joke, he was going to make you laugh. He was gonna do anything in his power to put a smile on your face," said Gwendolyn Wright, the victim's niece. That is how Wright describes her uncle, Douglas Freeman, who died Sunday shortly after 5:30 PM at the intersection of Sheridan Street and North 40th Avenue in Hollywood. Police said Freeman and another driver crashed and his car burst into flames. "Immediately it was a shock throughout the family," said Wright. Wright shared that Freeman, who would've turned 50 in August, was like a brother to her. His family is devastated by the sudden loss. "Just to be going through this, it angers me. It's just an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone," said Wright. Loved for his laughter, dancing and barbering skills As the investigation into the deadly crash continues, Freeman's family and friends are remembering the vibrant man they said loved to dance and had a passion for cutting hair. "He was a good person, outgoing, a lot of fun -- never a dull moment with Doug, that's for sure," said Mike Stephens, his former boss. "It's just sad to know that he is not here," Wright added. Fiery crash shuts down busy intersection A video captured by a passing driver showed one of the vehicles fully engulfed in flames, with thick black smoke rising into the air. A nearby resident said she was in her backyard when she heard the commotion and rushed to see what had happened. "I was one of the first people to call 911—no one got out of the car," she said. "I heard the fire start. I was like, 'Oh, another crash.' And then I saw a huge fire. There was a tree there. The tree fell down after the fire stopped. There was another car over there, flipped upside down too." The woman said she frequently sees serious accidents in the neighborhood and hopes the tragedy serves as a wake-up call. "I just love to see Hollywood become a safer area for people to drive in, because it's very triggering to see," she said. Investigation ongoing The Hollywood Police Department's Traffic Homicide Investigation Unit is leading the investigation. Authorities have not yet released details about what caused the crash.
