The USDA says it has raised funding for local food banks and schools over $1 billion by ending two programs that support the purchase of food for state, tribal and territorial governments.
The Bi-Local Program supports the purchase and distribution of products produced within the state.
The move comes amid wider efforts by the Trump administration to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, including some cuts in programs that critics say are required by law.
In a statement to the Hill, the Local Food Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Support Cooperative Agreement Program were cancelled because “no longer affect the agency's goals.”
The first program poured $500 million a year into food banks, with the latter allotting $660 million annually to buy produce from local farms.
“In a study that shows school lunches are the healthiest foods that Americans eat, Congress should invest in underfunded school lunch programs rather than cutting out services that are critical to student achievement and health,” Schannon Gleave, president of the School Nutrition Association (SNA), said in a statement.
The organization lobbyed for additional cuts to school lunch programs at Capitol on Tuesday, citing many cuts listed in the House Republican budget adjustment package.
The GOP resolution will require income verification along with all free, low-cost school lunch applications, and end the eligibility of a wide range of categories that allow families enrolled in the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program to automatically approve free school lunches without completing another application.
It also raises the threshold for community eligibility regulations. This allows the school to provide free meals to all students, allowing 60% of the school's students to qualify for the clause themselves to reduce from the current 25%.
The SNA says the changes will take away free meals from 12 million US students.
“These proposals will result in millions of children losing access to free school lunches when working families struggle to raise food costs,” Gleave said.
“On the other hand, the nutrition teams of shortages, which are striving to improve menus and expand scratch adjustments, will be plagued by the time-consuming and costly paperwork created by the new government's inefficiencies,” she added.
The Democratic governor is also opposed to the cut, saying it would affect students and farmers alike.
“Throttling funding for these programs will slap face to face with farmers in Illinois and the communities they feed,” Gov. JBPritzker said.
“The Trump administration's refusal to release grants will not only hurt farmers with the program, but will destroy the most vulnerable groceries communities that rely on meat, fresh produce and other nutritious donations.”
