Latest news with #ShannonGleave
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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. ALEXANDRIA $2,323 BEAVER RIVER $5,593 BELLEVILLE HENDERSON $2,165 BRASHER FALLS $4,785 BRUSHTON-MOIRA $3,558 CANTON $4,783 CARTHAGE $16,546 CHATEAUGAY $1,869 CLIFTON-FINE $1,287 COLTON PIERREPONT $2,139 COPENHAGEN $2,698 EDWARDS-KNOX $2,810 GENERAL BROWN $5,891 GOUVERNEUR $7,279 HAMMOND $1,247 HARRISVILLE $1,581 HERMON-DEKALB $1,927 HEUVELTON $2,410 INDIAN RIVER $17,104 LAFARGEVILLE $2,364 LISBON $2,614 LOWVILLE $7,318 LYME $1,643 MADRID-WADDINGTON $3,354 MALONE $9,657 MASSENA $8,374 MORRISTOWN $2,188 NORWOOD-NORFOLK $4,331 OGDENSBURG $8,067 PARISHVILLE-HOPKINTON $1,698 POTSDAM $5,443 SACKETS HARBOR $2,049 SAINT REGIS FALLS $1,132 SALMON RIVER $6,720 SARANAC LAKE $4,549 SOUTH JEFFERSON $7,613 SOUTH LEWIS $6,480 THOUSAND ISLAND $4,515 TUPPER LAKE $4,321 WATERTOWN $17,643
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local schools set to lose federal funding used to bring local food to cafeterias
Mar. 14—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. ALEXANDRIA $2,323 BEAVER RIVER $5,593 BELLEVILLE HENDERSON $2,165 BRASHER FALLS $4,785 BRUSHTON-MOIRA $3,558 CANTON $4,783 CARTHAGE $16,546 CHATEAUGAY $1,869 CLIFTON-FINE $1,287 COLTON PIERREPONT $2,139 COPENHAGEN $2,698 EDWARDS-KNOX $2,810 GENERAL BROWN $5,891 GOUVERNEUR $7,279 HAMMOND $1,247 HARRISVILLE $1,581 HERMON-DEKALB $1,927 HEUVELTON $2,410 INDIAN RIVER $17,104 LAFARGEVILLE $2,364 LISBON $2,614 LOWVILLE $7,318 LYME $1,643 MADRID-WADDINGTON $3,354 MALONE $9,657 MASSENA $8,374 MORRISTOWN $2,188 NORWOOD-NORFOLK $4,331 OGDENSBURG $8,067 PARISHVILLE-HOPKINTON $1,698 POTSDAM $5,443 SACKETS HARBOR $2,049 SAINT REGIS FALLS $1,132 SALMON RIVER $6,720 SARANAC LAKE $4,549 SOUTH JEFFERSON $7,613 SOUTH LEWIS $6,480 THOUSAND ISLAND $4,515 TUPPER LAKE $4,321 WATERTOWN $17,643
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
USDA Cuts More Than $1 Billion Earmarked For Local Food In Schools, Food Banks
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut more than $1 billion in federal programs that gave schools and food banks funding to purchase food from local farms and ranchers ― a move that school lunch advocates say will take away free meals from millions of children whose parents are grappling with rising grocery prices. The School Nutrition Association (SNA), a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring children are fed nutritious meals in schools, sounded the alarm on the program cuts Monday. '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, a registered dietitian nutritionist, said. 'These proposals would cause millions of children to lose access to free school meals at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs,' she continued. 'Meanwhile, short-staffed school nutrition teams, striving to improve menus and expand scratch-cooking, would be saddled with time-consuming and costly paperwork created by new government inefficiencies.' SNA said more than 800 of its members are visiting Capitol Hill today to urge Congress to block the USDA's cuts and keep investing in school meal programs. The USDA confirmed to HuffPost that it had notified states of the two programs being cut: the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), which gave $660 million to schools and child care facilities, and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA), which funded local food banks and other similar organizations. A USDA spokesperson defended the change as a return to fiscal responsibility ― mirroring messaging from Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency ― and labeled LFPA and LFS as bygone needs from the COVID-19 pandemic. 'As a pandemic-era program, LFPA will now be sunsetted, marking a return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives,' the spokesperson told HuffPost. 'This isn't an abrupt shift — just last week, USDA provided over half a billion in LFPA and LFS funding to fulfill existing commitments and support ongoing local food purchases.' The spokesperson said USDA still has more than a dozen other 'robust' nutrition programs in place and that this will allow the agency to focus on other efforts. 'Unlike the Biden Administration ... USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID era is over — USDA's approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward.' While the world may no longer be in a pandemic state, the rising cost of once-affordable, nutrient-packed grocery essentials is a strain on parents' wallets. Overall, the USDA found, food prices in January 2025 were 2.5% higher than in January 2024. But the skyrocketing, record-high cost of eggs has made the biggest headlines, with the USDA saying egg prices are predicted to increase 41.1% this year alone. Economists say President Donald Trump's planned tariffs are also likely to increase the cost of groceries, at least temporarily. USDA Admits Firing People Working On Bird Flu Was A Mistake Egg Prices Could Get Even Higher, USDA Says Trump Has A Plan To Sabotage The Government — And It Worked Perfectly His First Term
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
USDA halts more than $1B in funding for local food banks, schools
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it has nixed more than $1 billion in funding for local food banks and schools by terminating two programs that aid state, tribal and territorial government food purchases. The buy-local programs support the purchase and distribution of goods produced within the state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination. The move comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, including some cuts to programs that critics say are mandated by law. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program have been canceled because they 'no longer effectuate the goals of the agency,' the USDA said in a statement to The Hill. The first program was set to funnel about $660 million in 2025 to purchase produce from local farms for schools and child care facilities, while the latter program would have allocated $500 million this year to food banks. '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,' Shannon Gleave, School Nutrition Association (SNA) president, said in a statement. The organization lobbied against additional cuts for school meal programs at the Capitol on Tuesday, citing a number of reductions listed in House Republicans' budget reconciliation package. The GOP resolution would require income verification to accompany every free and reduced-price school meal application, ending broad-based categorical eligibility that allows families enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be automatically approved for free school meals without completing another application. It also raises the threshold for the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools to provide free meals to all students, demanding that 60 percent of the school's students qualify for the provision on their own for the school to make the cut, up from the current 25 percent. The SNA said that change would take free meals away from 12 million U.S. students. 'These proposals would cause millions of children to lose access to free school meals at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs,' Gleave said. 'Meanwhile, short-staffed school nutrition teams, striving to improve menus and expand scratch-cooking, would be saddled with time-consuming and costly paperwork created by new government inefficiencies,' she added. Democratic governors are also objecting to the cuts, saying they will impact students and farmers alike. 'Cutting funds for these programs is a slap in the face to Illinois farmers and the communities they feed,' Gov. JB Pritzker said. 'The Trump Administration's refusal to release grant funds doesn't just hurt farmers in the program, it devastates our most vulnerable, food-insecure communities relying on meat, fresh produce and other nutritious donations.' Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) spoke out against the new measure citing the $7.1 million partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and State of Georgia launched in 2023 to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables for schools across the state. 'This will hurt Georgia kids and Georgia farmers. We should support our schools providing kids with fresh, nutritious food grown locally by Georgia farmers. It's a win-win for childhood nutrition and Georgia agriculture,' Ossoff said in a Tuesday statement. 'I urge the Trump Administration to reverse course.' Updated at 1:54 pm ET. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump freezes $1 billion in food aid given to local schools and food banks to help low-income families
The Department of Agriculture has slashed over $1 billion in funding aimed at helping schools and food banks purchase from local farmers, according to a nonprofit. 'Multiple states' were recently notified of these cuts, the nonprofit School Nutrition Association said in a statement Tuesday. '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,' said the group's president Shannon Gleave. 'These proposals would cause millions of children to lose access to free school meals at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs. Meanwhile, short-staffed school nutrition teams, striving to improve menus and expand scratch-cooking, would be saddled with time-consuming and costly paperwork created by new government inefficiencies.' An estimated $660 million in funds through the Local Food for Schools program for 2025 will no longer be available to support childcare institutions and schools, the group added. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education confirmed it received a notice of termination from the USDA on Friday of the second round of Local Food for Schools grant funding, an award of $12.2 million, claiming that they 'determined this agreement no longer effectuates agency priorities and that termination of the award is appropriate,' the state's governor Maura Healy said in a Monday statement. '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,' said Governor Healey. '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 Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides food to food banks and organizations that reach underserved communities, was also included in the cuts, Politico reported. A USDA spokesperson told the outlet that funding 'is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification.' The spokesperson added: 'These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. LFPA and LFPA Plus agreements that were in place prior to LFPA 25, which still have substantial financial resources remaining, will continue to be in effect for the remainder of the period of performance.'
