The U.S. Department of Agriculture is wrapping up two significant pandemic-era initiatives that channeled over $1 billion to schools and food banks to acquire food locally from farmers and producers. Around $660 million of this was allocated to educational institutions and childcare centers through the Local Foods for Schools initiative to purchase food for meals. Additionally, a distinct program provided funding to food banks.
In the state of Maine, these funds enabled the coastal RSU 23 school district to directly purchase food from local fishermen, dairy producers, and farmers for school meals. According to Caroline Trinder, the food and nutrition services director for the district, these transactions were significant for both health and economic reasons. “I think everyone can say that they want kids at school to receive the healthiest meals possible. It’s the least processed, and we’re helping our local economy, we’re helping farmers that may be the parents of our students,” she explained.
However, these cuts are anticipated to impact school districts that already battle with “chronically underfunded” meal budgets, stated Shannon Gleave, the president of the School Nutrition Association. She expressed concerns, adding, “In addition to losing the benefits for our kids, this loss of funds is a huge blow to community farmers and ranchers and is detrimental to school meal programs struggling to manage rising food and labor costs.”
The USDA commented that these programs are legacies of the pandemic and no longer align with its current priorities. “The COVID era is over — USDA’s approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward,” a department spokesperson announced.
Massachusetts was one of the beneficiaries, receiving approximately $12 million for enhancing local procurement by school districts and childcare programs. Patrick Tutwiler, the state’s education secretary, expressed disappointment over the recent decisions from Washington, saying it’s a troubling sign that “there’s clear misalignment around what is important and what matters. We are seeing this cut of the LFS program as a first step towards deeper cuts.”
School nutrition directors are now on alert, preparing for potential reductions in programs that had previously increased funding for school meals, which for some students are a reliable source of food. Proposed financial adjustments to fund Republican-backed tax proposals include raising the poverty level criteria for schools to offer universal free meals without requiring an application. Further suggestions to trim costs include making eligibility for food assistance more restrictive and requiring income verification for free or reduced-price school meals, potentially excluding eligible families from accessing these benefits, according to the School Nutrition Association.
