The Daily Table, one of the largest food banks in Boston, recently announced it was closing its doors after serving more than 3 million people throughout the city over the past decade.

The organization cited high food prices and an “uncertain funding environment” as the main reasons. “Without immediate funding to bridge us through 2025, we cannot continue,” read the group’s farewell note to supporters.

Pantries like the Daily Table across the country are struggling to stay open after the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly cut $1 billion in 2025 funding back in March for food relief programs that have historically supported the nation’s most disadvantaged communities.

Specifically, the USDA abruptly slashed the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supported food banks in addressing the growing hunger crisis in America.

The agency also canceled the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, USDA-led initiatives that paid farmers and ranchers to produce the food that pantries and schools distributed to those in need.

“[Funding] is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification,” a USDA spokesperson bluntly told Politico when the cuts were discovered.

Food banks depend on federal funding to help those in need. The USDA cuts have hit these organizations hard, stifling their ability to fulfill their missions in

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