Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, says he’s still waiting for answers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture about funding cuts that are impacting food pantries across the Commonwealth.
The USDA ordered $500 million in cuts to purchases through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. 10 News reported last week that local agencies, like the Rockbridge Area Relief Association, say the cuts are coming while they’re seeing an increase in clients. Warner and a bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers sent a letter to USDA officials asking if they plan other ways to provide assistance.
“In an effort to undercut that part of the safety net now, other than cruel and mean-spirited, I don’t see any reasoning behind this.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.
In a statement to 10 News, a department spokesperson says the USDA is focused on stable and proven solutions to food insecurity and is still spending hundreds of millions of dollars on purchases through the program.
