Feeding South Dakota is seeking assistance from the state after losing out on millions in federal grants.
Organization officials say the nonprofit faces a $2.5 million budget shortfall following cuts pushed for by the White House.
In an interview with SDPB’s In the Moment with Lori Walsh, Feeding South Dakota CEO Lori Dykstra said the organization has never received state funding. But at Wednesday’s interim appropriations committee meeting, she plans to ask lawmakers for help.
"We need food. So we either need money to purchase food, or we need you to work with the USDA to get us food," Dykstra said. "Whatever way they get there, we’ll take the food, and we’ll move, and we’ll make sure the families that need it get it.”
Dykstra said while Feeding South Dakota has traditionally been privately funded, the organization is responsible for administering several state programs. That includes things like the senior box program and the emergency food assistance program.
“Those programs are USDA programs. Dollars come from the federal government, mostly through the farm bill and some of these other funds. They come to the state, and we’re running the program," Dykstra said. "We should be in partnership with the state. And we are with those programs — but what we’re saying is, when you make cuts to those programs, we need you to help us supplement that.”
Dykstra stressed this assistance request is “for this moment in time only” due to the sudden loss of federal funds.
