{"id":39048,"date":"2025-08-01T10:59:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/feeding-south-dakota-requests-3-million-from-legislature-to-fill-federal-loss\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:59:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T15:59:36","slug":"feeding-south-dakota-requests-3-million-from-legislature-to-fill-federal-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/feeding-south-dakota-requests-3-million-from-legislature-to-fill-federal-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeding South Dakota requests $3 million from Legislature to fill federal loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span><\/div>
\"Feeding<\/a><\/p>\n

Feeding South Dakota\u2019s Rapid City location on May 30, 2025. (Seth Tupper\/South Dakota Searchlight)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Feeding South Dakota is the first of what could be multiple nonprofits asking the Legislature for help to recover from federal funding cuts.<\/p>\n

Executive Director Lori Dykstra requested $3 million in onetime funds at the legislative Appropriations Committee meeting Wednesday in Pierre to offset 1.5 million pounds of food no longer being provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since March.<\/p>\n

Feeding South Dakota partners to provide food to 265 smaller food pantries and food insecurity organizations throughout the state. \u201cIf we don\u2019t have food, they don\u2019t have food,\u201d Dykstra said.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit\u2019s budget typically runs just over $10 million and is nearly entirely privately funded. The $3 million of state funding would help the organization purchase the lost 1.5 million pounds of food and purchase additional food to meet the expected increased need, Feeding South Dakota Vice President of Marketing Stacey Andernacht told South Dakota Searchlight after the meeting. The cost to purchase that much food fluctuates, rising to $2.7 million as of July 25.<\/p>\n

Tea Republican Sen. Ernie Otten, who serves as co-chair of the budget committee, warned lawmakers of hard choices to \u201cpick winners and losers\u201d in the next legislative session. The committee learned of an up to $24.5 million shortfall in projected general fund revenue for this fiscal year, and Otten said because of federal cuts affecting state departments and nonprofits, \u201cevery agency and group will have their hands out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, questioned ways that Feeding South Dakota could get churches and South Dakotans to contribute more, rather than relying on state or federal funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a wonderful organization, but you\u2019re one of hundreds, if not thousands, that want government funds to assist them in doing what they started out doing probably without government funds,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

Dykstra told lawmakers the nonprofit \u201cruns very lean\u201d and that 93 cents of every dollar goes toward feeding people. Feeding South Dakota has been operating for 50 years, primarily privately funded, and this is the first time leaders have requested state general funds, Andernacht said.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers won\u2019t take up the request until the 2026 legislative session starts in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt it was the right time to put in front of the state the dollars that they could partner with us on to help fill that gap,\u201d Andernacht said. \u201cThey have plenty of time to consider that, ask questions and get more information from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cuts came from the rollback of federal aid by the Trump administration, particularly programs begun during the COVID-19 pandemic to help the U.S. Department of Agriculture support food distribution. Feeding<\/p>\n

South Dakota spoke to the legislative budget committee in May about the cuts.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit reduced its programs by up to 35% to address the federal loss, Dykstra told lawmakers. Reduced programs include its mobile pantry, wellness pantry and senior box programs, Dykstra said. Feeding South Dakota partners with the state to deliver U.S. Department of Agriculture food insecurity programs, like the senior box program, in South Dakota. Andernacht said the nonprofit has not reduced food provided in the backpack program for school children.<\/p>\n

The group didn\u2019t fill open positions and made cuts to technology to lessen the blow to food-insecure families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did what we needed to Band-Aid the situation,\u201d Dykstra added.<\/p>\n

If the nonprofit doesn\u2019t fill its gap in federal funding, she said, rural communities will be hit hardest, because they don\u2019t have other resources like Sioux Falls and Rapid City do.<\/p>\n

Sioux Falls Republican Sen. Larry Zikmund highlighted the amount of volunteerism Feeding South Dakota depends on to operate its programs, in addition to the funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very much needed,\u201d Zikmund said, \u201cand we need to look at seeing what we can do to help support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Feeding South Dakota requests $3 million from Legislature to fill federal loss<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

Feeding South Dakota\u2019s Rapid City location on May 30, 2025. (Seth Tupper\/South Dakota Searchlight) Feeding South Dakota is the first of what could be multiple nonprofits asking the Legislature for help to recover from federal funding cuts. Executive Director Lori Dykstra requested $3 million in onetime funds at the legislative <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> August 1, 2025<\/p>\n

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