13-03-2025
End of USDA funding for fresh local produce hits Grainger County Schools
RUTLEDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — Two federal food assistance programs now canceled by the US Department of Agriculture are leaving school systems concerned for their school lunches.
The Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Cooperative Agreement Programs helped food pantries and schools to buy fresh produce from nearby farms. A statement from the USDA to The Hill said the programs were canceled because they 'no longer effectuate the goals of the agency.'
USDA halts more than $1B in funding for local food banks, schools
Grainger County Schools is among the districts impacted by the cut. Nutrition supervisor Tammy Edde said they have more than one USDA assistance program at their schools. She said while they are still offering their Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP program, which gives students two free meals a day. Axing their local Food for Schools Program could impact CEP.
'Us being the agricultural community, we should be serving those Grainger County tomatoes in our schools, and this gave us the opportunity to do that,' said Edde.
With the rising cost of groceries, Edde said working with local farmers helped the school tremendously – not only by providing student's fresh produce but also keeping the cost for school lunches down.
'It's just the fact that we need the money. We need the money to pay for this food and give kids good quality meals,' she said.
Edde said they were awarded $75,000 in 2024 from the Local Food for Schools Program, and no longer receiving that money may put their CEP program in jeopardy.
'We were really counting on the food for farmers for next year because we were told at the beginning of the school year that it was still in place, they had the money budgeted for it. It was – that was a shocker. I really, really hate it,' she said.
With the local food for schools cut coming as such a surprise, she said she is unsure where that leaves CEP.
'When we started that, our participation skyrocketed,' she said, 'That's going to be devastating if we have to go back where students have to pay for their lunch, that's going to be extremely devastating.'
In the meantime, she said they will need to cut back on the fresh produce they offer in the cafeteria.
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'It's going to be tight, we're going to have to cut down on the variety of what we serve, just pulling in the reins a little bit,' said Edde.
While the local food for schools' program was yearly, the CEP program still has three years left in their contract. Edde said despite losing the federal funding, they still plan to work with local farmers for their school lunches.
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