CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For Bea Hanson, executive director of the Coastal Bend Food Bank, the past few days have been a whirlwind of paperwork and emails. All to navigate the uncertainty surrounding President Trump's decision to freeze federal funding, which has since been rescinded.
The Coastal Bend Food Bank receives its funding through the USDA, which compensates the organization to store and distribute food. However, Hanson said the Food Bank has contingency plans in place should that funding stop.
"Fortunately, we receive donations from local individuals and grants, so it wouldn’t have impacted us," Hanson said.
The Food Bank is just one of many local programs that could be affected by a federal funding freeze. According to the City of Corpus Christi, various programs within the city receive more than $174 million in grants. Of that total, over $7.5 million could be at risk.
Programs like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), housing (HUD), special education, some hospitals could all be facing financial strain if the freeze had gone into effect.
But for now, it’s business as usual at the Coastal Bend Food Bank. Despite the looming uncertainty, the focus remains on its mission: helping families in need.
"Because that’s our mission, and our focus remains the same — we’re committed to helping families in need," Hanson emphasized.
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