Ossoff urges USDA to restore funding for South Georgia food program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut funding earlier this year for a program in South Georgia that helps provide food and childcare to the community.

Southeast Crescent Regional Commission’s Childcare Access and Nutrition Systems (CANS) Program lost funding earlier this year when the USDA/CANS cooperative agreement was canceled, according to WALB.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff wrote a letter to the department head, Brooke Rollins, to reinstate the grant funding.

“The Department’s decision not only hurts Georgians; it directly contradicts the Department’s stated goals of helping rural America thrive, and promoting agricultural production that better nourishes Americans,” Ossoff wrote in the letter.

The program aims to reduce food insecurity, expand food-assistance programs and improve health outcomes in Dougherty and Upson counties. It also helps expand affordable childcare options and reduce monthly childcare costs, according to WALB. 

“These projects would have demonstrably improved the quality of life for children, seniors, and families in south Georgia,” Ossoff wrote. “However, the Department terminated these critical projects in May after several of the projects had already begun, denying Georgians access to essential services.”