Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02) issued the following statement after the USDA announced that it was eliminating two local food purchasing programs that provided schools and food banks over $1 billion in funding to buy food directly from local farmers and producers:
“The Trump Administration is literally stealing food from the mouths of our keiki. The USDA local food grant funding program has helped to feed hungry children in Hawaiʻi and has supported local farmers who grow and produce the food. USDA Secretary Rollins has said the $1 billion in funding that was cut was ‘not essential.’ She should ask the 43,000 hungry keiki and 7,900 food banks and pantries nationwide if they thought these funds were ‘not essential.’ Real children and families will go hungry. We cannot allow the Administration to continue this indiscriminate hack and slash of critical assistance programs for our communities who need it most.”
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