New reporting from the Idaho Capital Sun and ProPublica shows that the Trump administration canceled more than 370,000 pounds of food shipments meant for Idaho families through the USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Created in 1981, the program fights hunger and supports American farmers by purchasing surplus food for local distribution. The cuts are part of a national rollback of food aid that blocked nearly 94 million pounds of food worth roughly $500 million from reaching food banks.
In Idaho, the canceled shipments included meat, dairy, and produce bound for food banks in North Idaho, Lewiston, Boise, and Pocatello. Local partners such as Community Action Partnership and El-Ada Community Action Partnership lost deliveries of cheese, chicken, turkey, and pork.
The cancellations come as Donald Trump refuses to use $6 billion in existing USDA funds to keep families fed, forcing the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to pause the state’s SNAP program in November, which would cut off food assistance for more than 130,000 Idahoans.
In response, Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea issued the following statement:
“Idaho families are working hard to put food on the table, and our farmers are working hard to feed them. These programs make sense because they fight hunger and help producers move their goods. But the Trump regime doesn’t care. They are letting good food rot in warehouses while children, veterans, seniors, Idahoans with disabilities, and thousands of working families go hungry. Republicans are sitting on their hands instead of standing up for the families and farmers they’re supposed to represent. It’s cruel and pointless, and everyone in Idaho can see it.”
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