According to a nonprofit, the Department of Agriculture has reduced funding for schools and food banks to help them buy from local farmers by more than $1 billion.
“Multiple states” were recently notified of these cuts, according to a statement released by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association on Tuesday.
According to the group, approximately $660 million in funds from the Local Food for Schools program will no longer be available to support childcare institutions and schools in 2025.
“This program will strengthen the food system for schools and childcare institutions by helping to build a fair, competitive, and resilient local food chain, and expand local and regional markets with an emphasis on purchasing from historically underserved producers and processors,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Food for Classrooms initiative.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education confirmed receiving a notice of termination from the USDA on Friday of the second round of Local Food for Schools grant funding, an award of $12.2 million, claiming that they “determined this agreement no longer effectuates agency priorities and that termination of the award is appropriate,” according to the state’s governor, Maura Healy, in a Monday statement.
The governor suggested that the cuts were part of a Department of Government Efficiency-led effort to reduce federal spending.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk have declared that feeding children and supporting local farmers are no longer ‘priorities,’ and it is just the latest terrible cut with real impact on families across Massachusetts,” according to Governor Healey.
“There is nothing ‘appropriate’ about it. Trump and Musk continue to withhold critical funding in violation of court orders, and our children, farmers, and small businesses bear the brunt of the consequences.”
Politico reported that the cuts also affected the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides food to food banks and organizations serving underserved communities.
According to the outlet, the department informed states that it was unfreezing funds for existing agreements under this program but did not intend to carry out a second round of funding for fiscal year 2025. According to the USDA website, the program is expected to receive an estimated $420 million in federal funds by 2025.
A USDA spokesperson told the outlet that funding “is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following a 60-day notification.” The spokesperson added, “These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer achieve the agency’s goals.
LFPA and LFPA Plus agreements that existed prior to LFPA 25, and which still have significant financial resources, will remain in effect for the remainder of the performance period.”
Last week, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker declared that this program could no longer operate in the state after the USDA announced that reimbursements for costs incurred after January 19 would be discontinued.
The same goes for the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, which seeks to “build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain.” Reimbursement claims submitted for costs incurred after January 19 are returned with “no explanation or timeline for reimbursements to resume,” according to the statement.
“Cutting funds for these programs is a slap in the face to Illinois farmers and the communities they feed,” the governor said. “The Trump Administration’s refusal to release grant funds does not just hurt farmers in the program, it devastates our most vulnerable, food-insecure communities relying on meat, fresh produce and other nutritious donations.”
Congress is also considering cuts to school meal programs, according to the announcement from the School Nutrition Association. The nonprofit urged the public to contact members of Congress and ask them to oppose the cuts.
“With research showing school meals are the healthiest meals Americans eat, Congress needs to invest in underfunded school meal programs rather than cut services critical to student achievement and health,” according to Shannon Gleave, the group’s president.
“These proposals would deny millions of children access to free school meals at a time when working families are already struggling with rising food prices. Meanwhile, understaffed school nutrition teams working to improve menus and expand scratch cooking would be burdened with time-consuming and expensive paperwork caused by new government inefficiencies.”