ELMWOOD, La. (WGNO) — Federal funding cuts are now impacting charities, like Second Harvest Food Bank.           Leaders of the nonprofit say they're going to need help from the public, so families don't go hungry. 37 loads of food expected to arrive at the food bank will not be comi ng because of cuts made to federal food programs.“That's over 600,000 pounds of food, which has a value to us of $1.1 million,” explained John Sillars, the chief strategy officer for Second Harvest Food Bank. New Orleans City Council resolution criticizes federal spending cuts Sillars says their food bank also relied on a program that allowed them to purchase fresh food from local farmers.“What we learned was, that program was being canceled nationwide, and so that is impacting us,” said Sillars. “It's impacting the farmers who we were buying food from.”           These cuts are happening as the amount of people experiencing food insecurity in south Louisiana increases to nearly 440,000.“Maybe it's a child who is, you know, it's Friday today, and they are leaving at the end of the day, and they're not sure when they're going to be eating over the weekend, if they're going to be eating over the weekend, because really, their main source of food is the food they get from school,” said Sillars.Sillars goes on to say they've budgeted $500,000 to purchase food in the next few months, and they’re leaning on other sources as well.“We're investing in food sourcing, staff and partner infrastructure, and then we're also depending on advocacy,” said Sillars.Monetary donations are always welcome, and collection bins are located outside the facility on Edwards Avenue in Elmwood. People can also volunteer.“They can come help plate meals or pack boxes, and if they really want to help us out, they can call their federal and state representatives to express their support for food assistance in south Louisiana,” said Sillars. The USDA has terminated nearly 80 contracts so far, totaling more than $130 million dollars. Their secretary has said these cuts were necessary to stop wasteful spending and optimize the department to better serve American agriculture. Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter. Latest Posts Trump says he would respect Supreme Court decision to return wrongly deported man Trump undergoes his annual physical after years of reluctance to share medical information FEMA changes spark concern in Louisiana as BRIC program ends, disaster aid questioned Laredo OKs giving state city land to build border wall Escobar: Residents, healthcare facilities will feel pain of Medicaid cuts ...read more read less