Local schools to lose federal funding used to bring local food to cafeterias
Mar. 15—WATERTOWN — Upward of $660 million could be lost from school districts nationwide as proposed cuts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture threaten to slash a program used to purchase food from local farmers.
The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement, or LFS program funds an estimated $660 million nationally that is no longer expected to be available.
A news release from the School Nutrition Association, which represents 50,000 members who provide high-quality and low-cost meals to students across the country, has criticized the Trump administration's move saying in part that "school meals are the healthiest meals Americans eat." The association cites a 2021 study from the JAMA Network, a consortium of peer-reviewed medical journals.
"With research showing school meals are the healthiest meals Americans eat, Congress needs to invest in underfunded school meal programs rather than cut services critical to student achievement and health," SNA President Shannon Gleave said in the news release.
Many federal programs across many agencies have been cut through President Donald J. Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk. The department is slashing federal spending on what it calls "waste, fraud and abuse."
North country school administrators contacted by the Times this week declined comment because they had not received official notification that they program had been cut.
The state Department of Education has established minimum funding amounts each school district can expect to receive through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. Actual funding amounts may be higher based on the number of districts that apply and are approved.
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