CCC funding is now frozen. Fortunately, we had already begun utilizing the CCC program to order truckloads of USDA food for Rhode Island. To date, 10 truckloads have arrived. We still have 14 loads on order, about 500,000 pounds of food, that will likely be cancelled.”

Andrew Schiff, the CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank

Concerns about federal cuts to food assistance programs have become a reality. 

In mid-March, officials from Tap-In (Touch A Person In Need) said reductions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and cuts to federal funding for food banks could lead to new challenges for the local nonprofit. 

In late-March, Andrew Schiff, the CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, shared a warning with area food pantries.

“Last week, we learned from the national organization, Feeding America, that some USDA programs were suddenly cancelled across the entire country,” Schiff wrote in the message. “One was the federal Local Food Purchase Assistance program (LFPA), which in our state was managed by Farm Fresh Rhode Island. LFPA provided fresh produce to about 30 food pantries during the local growing season.

“Another program, through the federal Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), provided USDA food for food banks, much like the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). It was a short-term program, begun in January and scheduled to end in September 2025. CCC funding is now frozen. Fortunately, we had already begun utilizing the CCC program to order truckloads of USDA food for Rhode Island. To date, 10 truckloads have arrived. We still have 14 loads on order, about 500,000 pounds of food, that will likely be cancelled.”

Tap-In is a member agency of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which is a member of the national organization Feeding America. 

“We’re waiting for the USDA to make an official announcement about the status of CCC,” Schiff wrote. “If the Trump administration re-starts the program, Rhode Island may still get those promised truckloads of food.”

Tap-In President Laurie Ward told the Barrington Times in a recent interview that the local nonprofit will prioritize food in the face of budget reductions. 

“We’ve thought about this a lot. One thing for us to remember is, our priority is food. We have other programs that we do that help people. I think if need-be, we would pull resources from other programs and stay focused on food,” Ward said. “We want to keep the levels we have, healthy options. We have great produce. That’s really important to people. We get eggs, that’s really important to people.”

In his message to area food banks, Schiff wrote that the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which provides food to Tap-In, will continue to receive food through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, “because TEFAP is an entitlement program, enacted in the Farm Bill. That’s why you will continue to see USDA food on the shopping list.”

Tap-In officials said the local all-volunteer organization benefits greatly from donations — food drives by local schools and letter carriers, food rescue programs with local stores and restaurants, and financial donations from private citizens. 

“We get support in all kinds of ways. That doesn’t mean it’s easy … and I feel for other food pantries across the state that maybe don’t have the support,” said Tap-In’s Ward. “It’s really worrisome and it’s not to say that we can make all that up, we’re just going to do everything we can to stay really focused on food.”