USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks
Source: Politico
AGRICULTURE
USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks
States have been notified that they will not receive 2025 funding for schools to buy food from nearby farms.
USDA ended the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. Rogelio V. Solis/AP
By MARCIA BROWN
03/10/2025 08:29 PM EDT
The Agriculture Department has axed two programs that gave schools and food banks money to buy food from local farms and ranchers, halting more than $1 billion in federal spending.
Roughly $660 million that schools and child care facilities were counting on to purchase food from nearby farms through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program in 2025 has been canceled, according to the School Nutrition Association. ... State officials were notified Friday of USDA's decision to end the LFS program for this year. More than 40 states had signed agreements to participate in previous years, according to SNA and several state agencies.
The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which supports food banks and other feeding organizations, has also been cut. USDA notified states that it was unfreezing funds for existing LFPA agreements but did not plan to carry out a second round of funding for fiscal year 2025.
In a statement, a USDA spokesperson confirmed that funding, previously announced last October, "is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification." … The spokesperson added: “These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. LFPA and LFPA Plus agreements that were in place prior to LFPA 25, which still have substantial financial resources remaining, will continue to be in effect for the remainder of the period of performance.”
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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/10/usda-cancels-local-food-purchasing-for-schools-food-banks-00222796
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The Agriculture Department has axed two programs that gave schools and food banks money to buy food from local schools farms and ranchers, halting more than $1 billion in federal spending. www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks
States have been notified that they will not receive 2025 funding for schools to buy food from nearby farms.
www.politico.com
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