Senators seek to restore $1 billion for meals at schools, elsewhere

(The Center Square) - U.S. senators from California and Nevada joined their Democratic colleagues to call on Trump and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate a reported $1 billion for meals provided by schools and others.

The 31 senators from across the country expressed concern at the federal government’s cancellation of the funds for local farms. The two defunded programs – the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program and Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program – supported farms in all 50 states.

“We write to express serious concerns regarding the cancellation of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs supporting local and regional food purchases providing assistance to those in need,” read the senators’ letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

“These successful programs … allow states, territories and Tribes to purchase local foods from nearby farmers and ranchers to be used for emergency food providers, schools and child care centers," the senators wrote.

U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Washington, a former teacher, and Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, lended their support to the letter, which pointed out how the programs had funded over 8,000 farms.

“In California, cancelation of purchases through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) puts more than $118 million in food purchases at risk in Fiscal Year 2025,” read a press release on the letter from U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California.

The LFPA and LFS cuts act as a reversal of a December 2024 move from the Biden administration to add over $1 billion to the programs.

“These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency,” a USDA spokesperson told Politico.

The cuts come amidst increasing grocery prices, most notably on staples like eggs.

The Wallace Center, a nonprofit focused on sustainable farming, found that in 2023, $800 billion of investments into the LFPA program would result in wider economic growth of $1.8 billion.

It is unclear what next step the senators will take after the letter.