The Department of Agriculture has cut over $1 billion in funding aimed at helping schools and food banks purchase from local farmers, according to a news report and a school nutrition nonprofit. The cuts come amid the Trump administration's push to purge federal spending.
States were notified recently that the USDA had cut the funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program for 2025, the organization School Nutrition Association said in a news release.
The agency also cut funds for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which operates similarly for the food supplies for local food banks and organizations in underserved communities, according to a report from Politico. Citing an unnamed spokesperson within the USDA, Politico reported that existing LFPA agreements would continue but that there would not be another round of funding this year.
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