Nutrition advocates call on USDA to immediately halt proposed reorganization

Planned changes will reduce staff expertise, performance, and productivity, groups say

Today, 17 members of the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity coalition submitted a joint comment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture opposing the Trump administration’s proposed reorganization of the agency, which the groups say would undermine nutrition and health.

Last month, USDA announced plans to relocate Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) employees from their headquarters in the Washington, DC, area and seven regional offices to five new regional locations. FNS oversees the nation’s critical nutrition assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school meals, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program from Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). USDA’s nutrition programs help millions of people, including children, parents, and older adults, have access to healthy food.

In their comment, the organizations note that this relocation will lead to staff attrition and loss of expertise. In 2019, the Trump administration similarly relocated two USDA agencies, resulting in the loss of 75 percent of relocated staff and reduced performance and productivity.

The organizations expressed deep concerns that state agencies will face difficulties administering nutrition programs due to the reorganization. FNS staff work with state agencies to monitor state program costs, monitor and disburse program resources, and provide technical support on policy changes. FNS also produces and promotes evidence-based nutrition guidance to reduce chronic disease. Losing experienced federal workers will actively make it harder for USDA to effectively carry out these core activities, according to the groups.

“A hasty reorganization of USDA is likely to deal a devastating blow to critical programs that are already understaffed, ultimately harming American families and farmers,” according to the comments.

“This reorganization plan comes after 15,000 USDA employees have resigned voluntarily, and after President Trump signed $186 billion dollars in cuts to SNAP into law,” said CSPI Director of Legislative Affairs Philip Kahn-Pauli. “Rather than finding ways to make us healthier, the administration is quickly dismantling our national nutrition infrastructure piece by piece — simultaneously attacking both participants in the programs and the skilled federal employees who administer them.”

# # #