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As the Trump administration continues to slash federal spending under the supervision of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that it will be canceling the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. The program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, provides $660 million to schools and child care facilities for purchasing fresh produce from nearby farms.
More than 40 states, including Alabama, were signed on to participate in the program which “looked to build a more resilient food supply chain that didn’t just rely on major food companies,” according to Politico. Now, Alabama schools will lose out on $16 million in federal funding to provide good quality food for children across the state, according to state Department of Education Superintendent Eric Mackey.
“It will be hard to replicate the program without federal funds because it’s a pretty expensive program,” Mackey said.
Mackey added that Alabama is one of the leading states when it comes to “farm-to-table or farm-to-school” collaborations. He hopes to work with the agriculture commission to find an alternative path forward now that federal funding has been pulled.
The cuts will also hurt the Deep South Food Alliance, New North Florida Cooperative, Durbin Farms and other small farmers who collaborated with the state to provide schools with fresh produce through the LFS program.
The Trump administration’s decision to gut the program comes as school nutrition officials express concerns about the decreasing affordability of healthy food. During his 2024 campaign, Trump vowed to lower grocery prices on his first day in office, but food costs remain high — not in small part due to the president’s on-again-off-again trade war with U.S. allies Canada and Mexico.
The LFS program is not the only USDA program being impacted by Trump and Musk’s indiscriminate attacks on federal spending. USDA grant monies continue to be frozen under Trump, leaving farmers in Alabama and across the country in financial limbo. The administration also recently announced the cancellation of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program which supports food banks and other feeding organizations with federal funding.
Reuters reports that these cuts, among other actions, have “disrupted some agricultural markets and caused stress and confusion in farm country,” potentially harming Trump’s political appeal in the U.S. Farm Belt where he previously saw widespread support in the 2024 election.
