Cuts Hit Florida Food Banks: ‘Our Families are Desperate’

By cutting $1 billion in funding for U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that enabled schools and food banks to buy food directly from local farmers, DOGE is having an impact in South Florida, reports CBS News.

“We’ve been seeing empty racks since February,” Paco Velez, CEO of Feeding South Florida, told CBS News. “These cuts have really made an impact, not just on our ability to serve, but on the families’ ability to thrive in South Florida and across the country.”

For Feeding South Florida, the cuts amount to 40% of its $37 million annual budget.

“It’s an unfortunate situation, because we see that our families are desperate,” Velez said. “They’re coming in more frequently than they ever have. And we’re trying to maintain as much food as we can. But there is a little desperation.”