1 week Ago By Paul Kirby
KINGSTON, N.Y. — U.
S. Rep. Pat Ryan said on Tuesday that due to recent U.
S. Department of Agriculture cuts, people in Ulster, Dutchess, and Orange counties are on track to receive 2 million fewer meals in 2025. In an announcement, Ryan is demanding that significant recent funding cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program for New York be immediately restored by the Trump administration.
Ryan, D-Gardiner, who represents the 18th Congressional District, said in a statement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut in half funding for food shipments through the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York distributed more than six million meals of Emergency Food Assistance Program foods in 2024 across the Hudson Valley, Ryan’s office said. Of the 20 million pounds of foods distributed by the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York last year, more than 4.8 million pounds–equating to roughly 4 million meals–were distributed across Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster Counties, Ryan’s office said.
In 2025, because of Trump’s USDA cuts, the food bank predicts a 49% drop in TEFAP foods, leaving them able to provide only 25 meals per food-insecure resident to last year’s 48 meals, Ryan said. Overall, this will constitute 2 million fewer meals provided in 2025 than in 2024, the office said. “Trump’s cuts at USDA will cut that number in half, significantly reducing the food bank’s ability to provide nutritious meals to the 170,000 community members that utilize their services every month,” Ryan’s office said in a statement.
Ryan said he is calling on Trump’s Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, to immediately reverse this decision and restore the flow of funds to Hudson Valley food banks. “I had to read this 5 times before I believed it,” Ryan said in a statement. “We’re all already feeling the crunch of the affordability crisis, which is made immeasurably worse by Trump’s tariffs.
Now he’s ripping food away from hungry children – it’s absolutely disgusting.” “170,000 of our neighbors rely on the food bank every month,” Ryan added. “That’s families going hungry.
That’s kids, veterans, and seniors going hungry. That’s farmers going out of business.” “We need our entire Hudson Valley community to join together with one voice and demand that Trump and Secretary Rollins reverse this decision and restore critical funding immediately,” Ryan said.
Tom Nardacci, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, said people dealing with food insecurity will be affected. “People experiencing food insecurity are facing an unprecedented crisis,” Nardacci said in a statement. “Numerous shipments have already been cancelled — if this funding is not restored, we’ll have 6 million fewer meals to provide families than we did last year, including 2 million of those meals in the Hudson Valley alone.
“Food banks rely heavily on USDA programs to provide families, seniors, and individuals with high-quality, nutritious food,” Nardacci said. “We source food from multiple channels, including rescuing 12 million pounds annually from retail partners.” Nardacci said that his organization has built strong relationships with New York farmers and producers to secure “fresh food directly and are collaborating with New York State to expand this initiative.
” “Significant cuts to federal food programs would disrupt a critical farm-to-food-bank pipeline and have a devastating impact on millions of people,” Nardacci said. Ryan’s office said that “Additionally, the food loads being cut include most of the food bank’s nutritious stock, including proteins like meats and cheeses, milk, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.” The Food Bank’s Hudson Valley branch recently opened a new distribution facility in Montgomery, Orange County.
The 50,000 square foot facility doubles the organization’s food storage capacity, and makes it easier to distribute food locally to the 170,000 people per month in the Hudson Valley who rely on the food bank’s services, Ryan’s office said. The Montgomery location is also helping to foster more local partnerships between small farmers and the food bank as well as local food pantries and other distributors. The new facility opened its doors in December.
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