Millions of Meals Gone: DOGE cuts hit families, farmers, & Florida food banks

TAMPA, Fla. — The news for Feeding Tampa Bay a few weeks ago wasn't good; then they learned cuts from the federal government were getting even worse.

Feeding Tampa Bay's goal of providing 100 million meals to families and neighbors is now in jeopardy. This week, the non-profit learned that more deliveries through the USDA were canceled.

Feeding Tampa Bay's Shannon Hannon Olivero states, "32 previously expected CCC (Commodity Credit Corporation) bonus loads have been canceled. This is a significant setback, not only in terms of nearly 1 million lost meals toward our 100 million meal goal but also because many of these loads contained high-cost proteins and dairy (milk and cheese), which are critical for our communities. "They have a total dollar value of almost 2 million dollars," she told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska.

WATCH Millions of Meals Gone: DOGE cuts hit families, farmers, & Florida food banks

For the first time, ABC Action News talked to a family-owned and operated dairy farm in Citrus County. Feeding Tampa Bay purchases milk M & B Products new Cool Cow portfolio. The farm provides milk to schools from Tallahassee to the Keys. But when school is out, they have a perishable product, and they can't just stop milking the 650 cows during the Summer months and holidays.

"We milk three times a day, and we get about a tanker of milk, which is about 5500 gallons of milk a day," Andrea McClellan, the General Manager of M&B Products, told Paluska. "From the cow to the table, it's all our family doing it. The food banks have the infrastructure. They really have the ability to safely and efficiently get it out to those most in need, and so we have to just keep this relationship going."

"So theoretically, if a food bank can't afford to buy your milk, you may not get it off the shelves; you're going to have to find another partner to get it out to. And that's what these cuts mean," Paluska asked.

"Yes," McClellan said. "I think our Florida legislation is really stepping in to help cultivate this relationship and keep it thriving and keep the relationship between Florida agriculture and Florida community is very, very close."

Florida legislators recently proposed $ 50 million to help connect Florida farmers to families needing fresh food.

According to the news release, "The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government, chaired by President Pro Tempore Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford), today released its proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The Committee's proposed budget includes critical funding to address food insecurity and support Florida farmers, both key priorities of Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Wauchula). This proposal will be included in Senate Bill 2500, the General Appropriations Act, the Senate's balanced budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year."

Thomas Mantz, CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay, told Paluska that this is a promising step forward in helping offset federal cuts.

"Is there a message for them (President Donald Trump) about what their trimming could potentially do to a community like Tampa Bay?" Paluska asked.

"Well, we always want to make sure that anybody empowered to create policy understands impact and implications. That's part of what we want to make sure that we do," Mantz said. "I think that the challenges that elected officials have to face are significant. There are difficult challenges, but we want to make sure that everybody understands what are the implications of those policies and and the ideas they're trying to push forward."

Mantz said they can't fight hunger alone.

"What we would say to the community, you know, as always, when you see a story like this, there's always a place for you here to donate, to volunteer, to contribute, so that all of our neighbors still have the resources that they need," Mantz said.

"I do want to be clear: feeding Tampa Bay isn't funded by the government. We execute services for them, and one of those is to take those funds and make sure we're getting good, healthy, fresh produce into the community. And so farmers will be definitely affected by this. There is an impact to their bottom line if an organization like ours isn't taking those funds and moving food from food from their farm farms into our community. I think it's important for the community to understand we can only go so far, right? We're charitably funded, which means we go as far as the resources the community gives us, and so that's always a concern to us."

What does this mean for the future? Mantz told Paluska they will carry on with their mission no matter what challenges they face. But, it could be a challenging road ahead.

"We'll be here tomorrow. We'll be here working tomorrow. We'll be here next month. We'll be working hard next month. Next month, we'll always be here. I think the concern we have is how much can we provide," Mantz said.

Full statement from a USDA spokesperson:

As a pandemic-era program, the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) will now be sunsetted at the end of the performance period, marking a return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives. This isn't an abrupt shift—earlier this month, USDA released over half a billion in previously obligated funds for LFPA and LFS to fulfill existing commitments and support ongoing local food purchases.  

 With 16 robust nutrition programs in place, USDA remains focused on its core mission: strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious food. Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in CCC funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID era is over—USDA's approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward.