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5mo ago

USDA Cuts $1 Billion in Local Food Programs for Schools and Food Banks

The Trump administration ends funding for initiatives supporting local farmers, schools, and food banks, impacting millions of children and families.

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FILE - Seventh graders sit together in the cafeteria during their lunch break at a public school, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
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BOULDER, CO - OCTOBER 7: Buckets of harvested peppers for sale at MASA Seed Foundation on October 7, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado. The farm has 250,000 plants on site with fruits, vegetables, and seed plants. Masa Seed Foundation is an agricultural cooperative that grows open pollinated, heirloom, locally and regionally adapted farm grown seeds. They seek to build a bio-regional seed bank, form a multi-demographic seed growers cooperative, distribute organic seeds and produce for hunger relief, facilitate educationally driven volunteer programs in agriculture, horticulture and permaculture and to teach and assist local growers with residential and farm landscapes to grow food sustainably and locally. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Overview

  • The USDA has eliminated two programs providing over $1 billion in funding for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farmers and suppliers.
  • The Local Food for Schools program, which allocated $660 million to schools and childcare centers, and the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, which supported food banks, have been discontinued.
  • The cuts will affect millions of children who rely on free or reduced-cost school meals, as well as families turning to food banks amid rising grocery costs.
  • Farmers who depended on these programs for stable income and local market access face significant challenges in finding alternative buyers for their produce.
  • The USDA justified the decision as a move toward fiscal responsibility, while critics argue the cuts undermine food security and harm vulnerable communities.