USDA cuts over $1 billion in funding for schools, local food purchases

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By Brad Brooks

(Reuters) -The U.S. Agriculture Department has cut two federal programs that spent over $1 billion annually to help schools and food banks buy food from local farms and ranches, the agency has confirmed to Reuters.

The School Nutrition Association, which represents cafeteria workers and directors nationwide, said in a press release that the USDA cut the $660 million Local Food for Schools program for 2025. 

Politico, citing a spokesperson for the USDA, reported that the department also cut the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which would have funded about $500 million this year to support food banks. 

The USDA said in an email that it had notified states, territories and tribes that the money for fiscal year 2025, “is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification.”

It said the programs created under the previous administration “no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. 

Ending the programs is part of an aggressive effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to sharply shrink the federal government and how much money it spends. 

The move comes as Trump has imposed new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, sparking trade wars with the biggest buyers of U.S. farm products. 

Farmers and food organizations across the U.S. are cutting staff and halting investments as the USDA freezes other grants and programs, farmers and agricultural support groups have told Reuters. 

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; additional reporting by Rich McKay, Editing by Donna Bryson and Michael Perry)