The Mississippi Food Network in Jackson, MS, distributes more than 30 million pounds of food a year and feeds more than 150,000 people each month. But recent federal funding cuts, however, put their mission at risk as well as the work of many others throughout the state.
“We lost a lot, several loads of food over a length of time,” said Cassandra Mobley, Chief Operating Officer of the Food Network.
Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, made massive cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a move Mobley told CBN News will affect residents in the state with the second-highest food insecurity in the nation.
“Donations have been down,” Mosley explained. “Need has been high. We actually distributed 22.3 million meals in 2023, and in 2024, it was up to 25.7. We expect that to be even more this year for 2025.”
The USDA supplies the network with funds for its emergency food assistance programs, which provide truckloads of protein, dry foods, and other goods.
“We’re accustomed to getting over 2 million pounds of food in every month and 2 million pounds going out, through the federal programs, through donations, through purchasing,” said Mobley.
Other areas in the state government have also been hit hard, including state health agencies and school districts.
The state’s education system is losing more than $137 million in federal funds after the U.S. Department of Education halted access to pandemic-era grant money – funds that were originally expected to last through 2026.
Schools across the state had been spending the money for literacy, math programs and other projects.
In 2024, Mississippi was ranked the second least educated state in the country. Many say help is needed now more than ever.
Russ Nelson, principal at Saint Richard Catholic School, was shocked by the cuts. The school had received COVID-related money.
“It happened in the middle of a school year,” Nelson said in an interview with CBN News. “We had new technology coming in, we had new iPads, new MacBooks for the teachers, and all that’s gone that we thought was going to be here already.”
The state’s Republican Governor Tate Reeves told CBN News that while he understands the pain felt across the state, drastic measures are needed to rein in the federal budget.
“We’ve got to find ways to balance the budget,” said Reeves. “And so, I certainly commend the president, his new administration in trying to do that because if we don’t, our financial system and financial situation is going to become an existential crisis in our country. And so, we’ve got to try to navigate our way through it.”
Meanwhile, the Mississippi Food Network, schools, and other groups are seeking alternative funding sources to meet the critical needs across the state.
