SAN ANTONIO, TX – The San Antonio Food Bank is facing a major cut in state funding. The state funding would help to pay for produce for needy families. This is a tragedy. Talk about kicking people when they are down and there is no remorse in doing so. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic of all things. It’s a pretty heartless thing to do: going after entities that help people the most.

Food Bank Honcho Mad About Cuts

Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper’s reaction to these cuts was basically that he was “flabbergasted.” On Thursday, October 1st, the Texas Department of Agriculture cut the Surplus Agricultural Product Grant. The grant is the money paying farmers for ugly fruits and vegetables unsold to grocery stores and restaurants.

The produce then goes to the 21 food banks throughout the State of Texas. Those food banks including the San Antonio Food Bank. This program allows farmers to make money and or disadvantage people to get nutritious

State Funding Cuts to Food Bank amount to 44%

Cooper said he thought the cut would be 10%. Yet it is 44%. That is because that’s what’s happening throughout many state agencies right now. That means families in San Antonio will go without a lot of the free products that they were able to get from the food bank.

“It just boggles my mind to think in the midst of this crisis, when we need food more than ever, a decision would be made to reduce the amount of food going to food banks to help needy families,” Cooper said.

He also said that these cuts are already in place. Yet Cooper is hoping that pressure from the local state representatives and from people might force the Texas department of agriculture to change this decision.

However, the Department of Agriculture has not responded to requests as to why they made such a drastic cut to this program.