USDA ends program that helped schools serve food from local farmers
By ANNIE MA
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Agriculture Department has made the decision to terminate two pandemic-era programs that allocated over $1 billion to schools and food banks for the purchase of food from local farmers and producers.
Of the total funding, approximately $660 million was utilized by schools and childcare centers to procure food for meals through the Local Foods for Schools initiative. Another program provided financial support to food banks.
One beneficiary of this funding was the coastal RSU 23 school district in Maine, where the money enabled them to source food directly from fishermen, dairy producers, and farmers for school meals, according to Caroline Trinder, the district’s food and nutrition services director.
Trinder emphasized the importance of providing students with the healthiest meals possible, stating, “It’s the least processed, and we’re helping our local economy, we’re helping farmers that may be the parents of our students.”
The discontinuation of these programs will have a significant impact on school districts with chronically underfunded meal budgets, noted Shannon Gleave, president of the School Nutrition Association.
According to a USDA spokesperson, these programs were considered a response to the pandemic and no longer align with the agency’s current priorities.
In Massachusetts, around $12 million in federal funding was allocated to school districts and childcare programs for the purchase of food from local producers.
Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler expressed disappointment with the recent decisions from Washington, foreseeing potential further cuts to important programs.
School nutrition directors are preparing for potential changes that could impact funding for school meals, which serve as a crucial source of food for many children.
Proposed spending cuts, including adjustments to the poverty level required for universal free meals and eligibility criteria for food assistance programs, could restrict access to essential food resources, as outlined by the School Nutrition Association.
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