Trump Admin. Cuts Program That Brought Local Food to School Cafeterias
By Brooke Schultz — March 11, 2025 5 min read
Children enjoy lunches provided by the Brownsville Independent School
District on June 8, 2016, at the Olivera Park gymnasium in Brownsville, Texas.
The local school district provides free lunches to any child under 18 who needs
a meal, regardless of their status as a student with the school district.
Children enjoy lunches provided by the Brownsville Independent School District
on June 8, 2016, at the Olivera Park gymnasium in Brownsville, Texas. The
USDA has terminated funding for a program that allows schools to purchase
food from local farmers.
Jason Hoekema/The Brownsville Herald via AP
The U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in
funding that helped schools buy food from local farms, in a move that one food
service director said was “devastating.”
The department’s $660 million Local Food For Schools program, which was
started under President Joe Biden in 2021, was canceled for 2025, according
to the School Nutrition Association, which criticized the cuts.
The USDA did not respond to a request for comment. An agency spokesperson
told Politico that the programs “no longer effectuate the goals of the agency.”
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The program sought to bring local produce to schools and child care facilities,
giving schools the opportunities to purchase fresh foods and use smaller
producers rather than rely on large corporations.
“This was devastating,” said Nicole Melia, food service director for the
Norristown district in Pennsylvania, who also works with the farm-to-school
network in the state. “We have been really working on establishing a lot of
resources and supports to help schools connect with local farmers. This was a
slap in the face to all the work we’ve done.”
The program was part of a larger $1.5 billion effort from the USDA to enhance
the school meal program following supply-chain challenges during the COVID-
19 pandemic. The goal was to help the bottom lines of school lunch programs
that typically operate on tight margins, as well as producers that were
struggling after the pandemic forced restaurant closures.
The Biden administration created the program through executive action, so it
can be undone in the same way.
Educators said the program helped bring fresh produce and variety into the
cafeteria that they haven’t always been able to offer.
Melia, whose district is located about 20 miles north of Philadelphia, was able
to source apples from nearby orchards and carrots from a nearby farm. The
district could purchase local milk and home-grown lettuce—and things that
don’t always appear on the menu, like Brussels sprouts and kale.
“It’s so much fresher, and a better product,” Melia said. “It’s possible it was just
picked that week and arrived in your cafeteria. That’s not possible coming from
California and Florida, at least for us in Pennsylvania.”
The state was due to receive about $23 million this fiscal year. Melia said the
Norristown district had already planned out how it would use its share of the
money.
In smaller rural areas, schools often want to purchase food locally, said Tara
Thomas, government affairs manager for AASA, The School Superintendents
Association. But the cost can be quite high.
“In the broader scheme of things, at the end of the day, these critical school
nutrition programs operate on paper-thin margins and, at this time, with
increased costs,” she said. “Schools need more resources and funding to cover
the cost of providing these healthy meals. Any reduction in funding will have a
negative impact on schools if you increase the cost of these programs at all.”
The federal subsidies made it easier for Raul Gaston’s Illinois district to keep
costs at a minimum while offering local food.
Gaston, the principal of Gompers Jr. High School in Joliet, Ill., said almost all of
his 780 students eat breakfast and lunch served at school, and almost all
qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
“Good-quality food is sometimes a little harder to get to, and so our kids really
rely on that nutrition,” he said. “Without good food, it’s going to be very difficult
for them to be able to learn and be able to do the things that kids need to do, in
order to grow and feel healthy.”
Broader school meals cuts are under consideration
The Trump administration canceled the local foods program as broader cuts to
the National School Lunch Program are under consideration in Congress.
Those cuts would follow years in which access to free school meals has
flourished, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the USDA allowed
every student to qualify for free meals under a waiver that lasted from 2020—
during the first Trump administration—to 2022.
Today, roughly 20 million children benefit from the community eligibility
provision, which allows a school to provide free meals to all students without
requiring that they individually verify their family income and eligibility for free
meals. Schools are eligible to participate if 25 percent of their students
automatically qualify for free meals through participation in other safety net
programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Biden administration expanded the community eligibility provision in 2023
to allow more schools to provide free meals to all students. The administration
also sought to eliminate “junk” fees—processing charges that ultimately
increase how much families pay for school meals—for low-income families.
Research has found that universal free meals benefits academics, engagement,
and even student discipline.
Following the pandemic waivers, a number of states started offering universally
free school meals, with help from the community eligibility provision.
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Now, Congress is considering other cuts to school meals programs, according
to the School Nutrition Association.
Republicans have been eyeing changes to the community eligibility provision,
pushing to raise the minimum threshold of eligibility.
Some educators fear that the provision could be outright eliminated, which is a
proposal in Project 2025—a 900-page policy agenda spearheaded by the
Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Trump has tapped some of its
authors to serve in his administration, and has already followed several of its
outlined policy initiatives.
School Nutrition Association President Shannon Gleave said in a statement that
such changes “would cause millions of children to lose access to free school
meals at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs” and
that school cafeteria staff “would be saddled with time-consuming and costly
paperwork created by new government inefficiencies.”
It would take congressional action to eliminate the community eligibility
provision.
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"Donald Trump and Elon Musk have declared that feeding children and
supporting local farmers are no longer 'priorities,' and it's just the latest terrible
cut with real impact on families across Massachusetts," said Healey. "
USDA Cuts School Food Program: List of States Impacted
Published Mar 11, 2025
By Kate Nalepinski
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has eliminated over $1 billion in
funding that help bring local food to schools and food banks.
The move, part of broader federal spending reductions, could impact millions of
students and families nationwide.
Why It Matters
The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) program,
which allocates approximately $660 million for schools and childcare centers
to purchase food from local farms, has been cut for 2025. Additionally, the
USDA has discontinued the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative
Agreement Program, which provided $500 million to food banks, per The
Guardian.
What To Know
The USDA announced funding for the affected programs last year. States were
informed last week that their agreements would be terminated following a 60-
day notification period.
Nonprofit School Nutrition Association said the change would pull free meals
away from 12 million U.S. students.
Which States Will Be Impacted?
The impact of these cuts will vary by state, depending on their reliance on the
LFS program. States that had integrated these funds into their operational
plans for school meal programs and food banks will face significant challenges.
According to USDA, the following states have signed with USDA on the Local
Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program:
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Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey in a press release criticized the
elimination of funding, highlighting its negative impact on local families and
farmers.
"Donald Trump and Elon Musk have declared that feeding children and
supporting local farmers are no longer 'priorities,' and it's just the latest terrible
cut with real impact on families across Massachusetts," said Healey. "There is
nothing 'appropriate' about it. Trump and Musk are continuing to withhold
essential funding in violation of court orders, and our children, farmers and
small businesses are bearing the brunt of it."
Why Are Federal Programs Being Cut?
The USDA's decision is under President Donald Trump's broader effort to
reduce federal spending and downsize government programs, under Elon
Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The
administration has also imposed new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China,
which have affected U.S. markets.
How Will Schools and Food Banks Be Impacted?
The decision could cause disruptions across the school meal system and local
food banks. Some school nutrition teams may struggle to maintain current meal
programs without LFS funding, and food banks that relied on USDA-backed
local purchasing agreements may be forced to reduce operations or cut food
assistance programs.
The SNA has launched a nationwide advocacy campaign against the cuts,
urging Congress to restore funding. According to a press release, school meal
programs are already operating on tight budgets and will struggle to meet
federal nutrition standards without additional support.
"These proposals would cause millions of children to lose access to free school
meals at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs,"
SNA president Shannon Gleave said.
The USDA maintains that other existing agreements will remain active for the
duration of their performance periods, but advocates argue that the loss of
these programs will have lasting consequences for food security in schools and
communities.
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