USDA, DOGE Slash About $1 Billion in School Nutrition Funding Programs
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) is cancelling about $1 billion in funding for two federal school nutrition programs, which gave schools and food banks the ability to buy local, as part of the Trump administration’s Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE) work to slash federal spending and reduce government waste.
According to news reports, cutting the Local Food for Schools program will eliminate about $660 million, while eliminating the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement will slash about $420 million in spending. Funding for these programs came from USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. The agency reportedly called the decision a “return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.”
A USDA spokesperson also took a swipe at former President Joe Biden and his administration in an email to CBS MoneyWatch, saying that administration funneled billions of dollars into short-term programs with no plan for longevity. According to Politico, the Biden administration did expand the programs last year by more than $1 billion in additional funding.
The School Nutrition Assn. (SNA), meanwhile, was working to convince Congress members to oppose these cuts, imploring them “to invest in underfunded school meal programs rather than cut services critical to student achievement and health,” said Shannon Gleave, president of SNA, in a release on the funding cuts. According to SNA’s Facebook page, some 850 school nutrition leaders visited Capitol Hill today to make their case.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey lambasted the administration and Elon Musk, who is spearheading DOGE, for the decision to eliminate a $12.2 million funding award for her state’s child care programs and schools.
“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,” Healey said. “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.”
The CBS report interviewed the director of nutrition services at the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Unified School District, which receives $100,000 in funding — about 2% of the district’s annual food spend. She said the funding helped keep the price of meals for children at the school down, and that it had planned to buy local beef and produce with that funding.
“It's a pretty big hit, and that’s mostly fresh fruits and vegetables,” the woman said. “It wasn't just about keeping food costs low — it meant supporting your community and your local farmers in your state.”
