Latest news with #McMath
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana officials lament loss of USDA money to help schools, food banks buy from local farmers
Lance Cheung/USDA photo Louisiana lawmakers are asking Congress to bring back a $1 billion federal program that allows schools, child care programs, and food banks to purchase locally grown produce and protein. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, both administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, were axed in March as part of the Trump administration's move to reduce federal government spending. Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said some small and mid-sized farms had already started planting and planning for their crops to be bought by schools or food banks through the defunded initiatives. '[If they are lost], it would be detrimental for the schools, it would be detrimental for those small farmers because they really rely on this,' Strain said. Louisiana will lose out on more than $18 million from the food-buying programs over the next three years, according to federal data. State Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, authored Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 to urge Congress to put the funding back, specifically for schools. McMath is championing bills focused on the Make America Healthy Again movement to banish ultra-processed foods from school lunches. He said he believes local purchasing programs can help get healthier food options on children's lunch trays. In a state Senate Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday, Strain mentioned examples of Louisiana businesses taking a hit from the federal program cuts. Harris Cattle Co., a Ville Platte business, sells $380,000 worth of meat to nine school districts. Another farm sold $7,000 worth of okra to area schools, the agriculture commissioner said. 'Instead of using processed foods, we want food from scratch. We want fresh okra, we want fresh broccoli, we want fresh corn on the cob. That is what we are looking for,' Strain said. Strain said he has been in direct contacted with members of Louisiana's congressional delegation to make them aware of the impacts from the USDA spending reductions. U.S. Rep. Julie Letlow , R-Louisiana, sits on a House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture that met Wednesday to discuss the proposed federal budget. More information about the reorganization of the USDA is anticipated to be released in the coming weeks, which could mean a chance for the funding to return in some capacity, Strain said. The Local Food for Schools Program began in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Biden Administration. A USDA spokesperson told Politico the programs 'no longer effectuate the goals of the agency.' Local Food Purchase Assistance agreements in place prior to 2025 renewals were set to take effect, will remain in place for the remainder of their agreed-upon terms, according to the USDA. McMath's resolution does not specifically ask for food bank funding to be returned, but Feeding Louisiana executive director Pat Van Burkleo said he'll work with a legislator next week to make that request. The latest USDA cuts come at a very inopportune time, as the Trump administration is also slashing the Emergency Food Assistance Program. 'We can't make up what the federal government cuts for food banks. We can ask for help, but it doesn't make it up,' Van Burkleo said Feeding Louisiana represents the state's five regional food banks, which cover all 64 parishes. The group is spreading a petition to gain the attention of Gov. Jeff Landry to get his support for calling on Congress to restore the funding. Their goal is 500 signatures by next week. As of Wednesday, the count was already over 260. Van Burkleo said losing this funding not only harms schools trying to serve healthy foods, but also small farmers who often work multiple jobs without avenues to sell their produce on a greater scale. 'It is a great program designed to help the small, underserved minority farmers in rural communities. They have never had this opportunity to get this kind of dollars,' Van Burkleo said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Louisiana seeks waiver to ban candy, soft drinks purchases with SNAP benefits
Louisiana will seek a waiver from the federal government to prohibit the purchase of soft drinks and candy with federal food assistance. Gov. Jeff Landry announced his intentions Thursday in an executive order he touted in a video posted on social media. 'The Make America Healthy Again movement is not one of words, but of action!' Landry posted. 'That is why today I signed an Executive Order banning soda and candy purchases from Louisiana's food stamp program.' Landry's executive order doesn't actually prohibit these purchases, as he does not have that authority. The order instructs the state's Department of Children and Family Services, which oversees the state's implementation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to seek a waiver to do so from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. Landry's executive order does not define either soft drinks or candy. The governor also urged the Legislature to approve Senate Bill 14 by Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, a sweeping piece of nutrition legislation that, among other things, seeks a USDA waiver to prohibit the purchase of beverages with more than 5 grams of added sugar or any artificial sweetener. Drinks that include milk or milk substitutes would be exempt from this prohibition. When McMath presented his bill to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee this week, he said he specifically decided not to seek prohibition of candy purchases with SNAP benefits. Many Louisiana residents live in food deserts, and McMath said he did not want to prevent people who might only be able to shop at convenience stores from eating. Landry's order also instructs DCFS to find ways to incentivize SNAP recipients to buy produce, such as participating in the Double Up Food Bucks program. The program provides matching aid dollars for fruit and vegetable purchases in more than two dozen states. The order sets an Oct. 1 deadline for DCFS to submit its waiver application to the Trump administration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Louisiana looks to RFK Jr. for school lunch guidelines, limits on SNAP purchases
Sen. Patrick McMath looks ahead from his desk in the Senate Chamber. (Allison Allsop/Louisiana Illuminator) Louisiana lawmakers advanced sweeping nutrition legislation that would regulate purchases of sugary beverages with federal food assistance and limit what ingredients can be served in public school school lunches. Senate Bill 14 by Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, cleared the Louisiana Senate Committee of Health and Welfare on a party-line 4-3 vote, with Republicans prevailing. McMath's bill is part of a nationwide backlash against 'ultra-processed foods,' food dyes, seed oils and certain chemicals in foods that U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has targeted for elimination. Kennedy is the central figure of the 'Make America Healthy Again' movement. McMath said he is working with Kennedy on his bill. 'I think, for the first time in a very long time, and perhaps maybe ever, Americans, Louisianians, are paying close attention to what our individual health outcomes are and our individual health outcomes for our children and our grandchildren,' McMath said. Democrats on the committee raised concerns that the legislature is not taking a holistic look at the factors causing poor health outcomes in Louisiana. 'Louisiana has a lot of chemical industry in our state. Those plants produce a lot of carcinogens that's in the air we breathe, and we tend to turn our backs sometimes and let those things go,' Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, said. 'So we need to be more mindful and consider all of those things.' In an interview after the hearing, McMath said his bill is a starting point toward addressing larger issues in Louisiana. 'The types of environments that we're surrounded by can be pretty toxic,' McMath said. 'And while I would love to wave a magic wand and clean up air and water and other things, I think the lowest hanging fruit … is we can start with the food that we're that we're putting in our body.' The original version of his legislation banned the purchase of soft drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits but was amended to prohibit buying beverages with more than five grams of added sugar or any artificial sweetener. Drinks that include milk or milk substitutes would be exempt from this prohibition. Democrats also objected to this provision of the bill, saying it would further marginalize poor children who could be ostracized for not being able to afford lunchbox items their peers can. McMath's SNAP restrictions are actually more limited than those in previous legislative proposals, which have included bans on chips and candy. McMath said he was aware many Louisianians live in food deserts, and he did not want to prevent people who might only be able to shop at convenience stores from eating. If McMath's bill passes, the state would still have to receive permission from the federal government to limit SNAP benefits. Further amendments on the bill removed references to 'ultra-processed' foods and instead listed ingredients prohibited in school lunches. They include food dyes that are common allergens and zero-calorie sweeteners such as sucralose, more commonly known as Splenda. The committee adopted amendments to allow food items with prohibited ingredients to be sold in vending machines and from concession stands at school events. The bill also requires food packages to include a warning that the contents 'may be harmful to your health' if it includes certain ingredients. That list includes aspartame, a common zero-calorie sweetener. McMath's legislation would also require restaurants to post notices when they use oils derived from the seeds of plants. Certain medical professionals would be required to take nutrition courses as part of their continuing education under the bill that heads next to the Senate floor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
NZ Herald
21-04-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
ON THE UP: From toolbelt to teaching - Far North father pivots to new career
Last Tuesday he and his fellow new teachers marked the first graduation for the Te Hiku programme, a major milestone for the Northland teaching initiative. 'The wānanga were long days, sometimes 13 hours, but it worked. We were all in it together. Some of us dropped off, but we pulled each other back in. We kept each other going,' McMath said. He credits a rainy-day conversation with his best friend, who was also working in construction, for planting the seed of change. His friend took the first leap into teaching and, six months later, returned to the building site to encourage Takawai to do the same. 'He lined up a job interview for me at Kaitāia College and wouldn't take no for an answer. I started there as a teacher aide,' McMath said. But there was another, more personal motivator for him. His eldest son, Ngataiawa, had once shared with him that university didn't feel attainable for Māori. 'That stuck with me. I didn't want him to believe that. I wanted to show him it was possible, '' McMath said. Not long after, Ngataiawa enrolled in a business finance degree at the University of Waikato's Tauranga campus, where he is now in his final year. 'I told him, no gap year, get straight into it. And he did. Having him studying down there helped keep me on track too. I couldn't drop the ball when he was watching,' the proud dad said. The decision for the Te Hiku cohort to attend graduation together in Tauranga last week came naturally. The group, who studied through marae-based wānanga, remains close and committed to celebrating their shared achievement. 'We're from all over the Far North, but we agreed on Tauranga because that's where our amazing kaiako Jay and Mere are based. It's also where my son is studying, so it made sense. My whole whānau was there,' he said. For McMath, returning to study was not without its challenges. He had lived for years with hearing loss that affected his confidence, only receiving hearing aids in 2017. The change was immediate. 'They made a huge difference. Suddenly I could follow full conversations. I could sit in a lecture and not miss half of what was being said. That gave me the confidence to study.' Now a teacher at Kaitāia College, Takawai is proud of how far he has come and of those who supported him along the way. 'I'm especially proud that Jay and Mere nominated me for the Vice-Chancellor's Award. I wasn't in study mode when I started. Honestly, I look back at my early work and I'm too embarrassed to reread it. But I stuck with it, and now here I am.' Following his graduation in Tauranga, he reflected on the journey and the impact it had. 'It's easy for our boys in the Far North to drift. There isn't always a lot going on, so you have to lead by example. I did this as a dad, and now my son is walking his own path too. That makes me proud.' The Te Hiku ITE programme, led by Ngāi Takoto with support from Te Rarawa and facilitated by the University of Waikato, aims to address teacher shortages in Northland by supporting more Māori and local students into teaching careers. Launched in 2021, the programme was developed in consultation with iwi and school leaders as part of Te Hurihanganui, a Ministry of Education initiative focused on tackling inequities and racism in education. It is delivered by University of Waikato staff Professor Mere Berryman (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, and Ngāti Whare) and Jay Haydon-Howard. The initiative combines online learning with marae-based wānanga and wrap-around support from local iwi and school communities, allowing students to study from their rohe while remaining connected to their whānau and communities.
