The Food Bank of Northern Nevada distributes groceries through its Mobil Harvest program. (Photo credit: Aramelle Wheeler, marketing and communications manager at the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.)
The US Department of Agriculture has halted the delivery of over a million pounds of meat, eggs, and dairy to food banks in Nevada, despite the fact that the demand for food assistance has increased.
Dozens of trucks loaded with fresh food bound for Nevada’s food banks were pulled back last week, and the USDA canceled 40% of food deliveries ordered by the Nevada Department of Agriculture through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is funded by the federal Commodity Credit Corporation.
Three Square Food Bank, serving Clark, Lincoln, Esmeralda, and Nye counties, was notified on March 25 that approximately one million pounds of USDA food donations had been canceled. According to Beth Martino, CEO of Three Square Food Bank, the Commodity Credit Corporation contributed to some of the delivery costs.
The Food Bank of Northern Nevada, which serves approximately 160,000 Nevadans monthly across 12 counties, was informed that 350,000 pounds of food expected between April and August would be canceled immediately.
According to the Nevada Department of Agriculture, the USDA abruptly canceled 35 trucks of fresh food that were scheduled to be delivered to Nevada food banks. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada was supposed to get 12 of those trucks.
“This was additional food that we received through that program, which we, frankly, needed right now. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada’s director of marketing and communications, Jocelyn Lantrip, stated, “The need is extraordinarily high.” “We’re helping 160,000 people every single month, which is about 76% higher than it was before the pandemic.”
In October, the USDA announced an additional $500 million in funding for food banks under the Emergency Food Assistance Program. That funding has now been canceled as part of a larger campaign to cut the federal budget, leaving Nevada with less food to stock emergency food pantries.
According to a USDA spokesperson, the Emergency Food Assistance Program “continues to operate uninterrupted with more than $166 million spent in recent months,” but the program’s additional half-billion in funding has been terminated.
When asked to explain the rationale for ending the funding, the USDA said in a statement that the Biden administration announced the additional $500 million in Commodity Credit Corporation dollars “without any plans for long-term solutions.”
The USDA stated that despite the termination of additional funding for food banks, the agency “has not and will not lose focus on its core mission of strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious foods.”
The USDA recently reduced federal funding for two additional food assistance programs in Nevada, including approximately $8 million for the Home Feeds Nevada program, which allowed food banks to purchase directly from local producers.
Prior to the funding freeze last week, the food bank had received approximately two million pounds of food through Commodity Credit Corporation funding over the previous year. If the funding is not reinstated, the food bank expects to lose roughly the same amount of food donations next fiscal year.
“The situation has gotten worse for many families so as far as the food bank is concerned, we don’t think it’s a great time to cut funding for food programs, because we’re seeing more need than we’ve ever seen,” Lantrip informed the audience.
A cascade of challenges
Commodity Credit Corporation funding provided more meat and dairy to food banks than other federal commodity programs. According to Lantrip, donations or other sources cannot easily replace the high-protein staples provided by USDA funding.
“That’s what makes it so important, because this type of food is difficult to find. “It is more expensive,” Lantrip explained. “Meat and protein items are always difficult for food banks to find, just because there’s less of that in the donation stream, and it’s more expensive to source if we’re purchasing.”
A diverse funding stream will allow the Food Bank of Northern Nevada to continue operating at full capacity, but dealing with larger USDA cuts to the food bank will be more difficult, according to Lantrip.
“Replacing that food in the long term is the larger concern for us,” Lantrip told reporters.
Other food pantry operators in Nevada said the cuts put additional strain on nonprofits that are already struggling to meet high levels of need, forcing operators to quickly fill in gaps with their own funds, food purchases, and donations.
The Community Food Pantry, which serves the Reno-Sparks area, stated that the cuts would result in a third of their food deliveries being reduced. The food pantry has seen a 21% increase in the total number of clients visiting since the same time last year, which the additional funds have largely covered.
“The biggest disadvantage is that it introduced healthy foods. Barbara Monroy, director of the Community Food Pantry, recommends potatoes, fresh vegetables, and protein sources like milk, eggs, and cheese.
“I’ve started to look around at other places where I could get food, because if the food bank doesn’t happen, I’ve got to find it somewhere else,” he said. “Right now we’re looking at applying for additional grants that aren’t government related, reaching out to donors, and trying to find other programs that might be able to fit the need.”
The USDA food donation cut exacerbates other financial issues for the Community Food Pantry, which is already dealing with inflation and higher operating costs.
“Our car insurance increased by 40% this year. Monoy said, “It’s crazy that this is happening.”
According to Three Square Food Bank, the canceled shipments account for only a small portion of the donations the organization expects. Last year, Three Square distributed over 41 million meals, which amounted to over 49 million pounds of food and grocery products.
However, at a time when the cost of food and other basic needs continues to rise, with the threat of further increases as a result of Donald Trump’s tariff policies, low-income Nevadans will bear the brunt of the loss of nutritional funding.
The canceled deliveries come as Congress appears to be planning further cuts to other safety-net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides low-income Americans with money to buy food. According to Monoy, the prospect of such additional cuts only adds to the need for nutrition assistance programs.
“The need hasn’t gone away since COVID, by any means,” says Monoy. “Just last weekend, we spoke with several people in line, and their SNAP benefits are $23 per month. I know another woman who receives $17 per month. That doesn’t seem like enough to help people when a dozen eggs costs $11.”
According to USDA data, all food prices are expected to rise 3.2% this year, and grocery store purchases are currently 1.9% higher than they were in 2024. The overall annual inflation rate in 2024 was 2.9%.
Nevada’s workforce has also taken longer to recover from the financial effects of the pandemic. Nevada currently has the highest unemployment rate in the country, at 5.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Everybody’s feeling the pinch,” Monoy said. “It’s just the high cost of everything that’s forcing people into the pantry line.”
