The Agriculture Department is killing two Biden administration initiatives that supply local and regionally produced foods to schools, child care facilities and food banks.
The Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement (LFSCC) and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) were created through executive authority rather than being authorized by the farm bill.
In a statement to Agri-Pulse, USDA said it would resume processing claims for payments under either of the initiatives for work done before President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20. Existing agreements also will remain in effect.
“USDA can confirm it has provided notice to States, Territories and Tribes that the FY 2025 funding previously announced for the pandemic-era Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement (LFSCC) and pandemic-era Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program (LFPA25) is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification,” the statement said.
“These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency.”
Then-Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that $1.7 billion was being put into the two initiatives last October, using USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation spending authority. The department’s announcement said the programs “help American producers by ensuring they have the certainty of access to local and regional markets as well as the financial benefits that come with selling directly to institutions.”
An official with the School Nutrition Association said the $660 million in LFSCC funding was helping establish local hubs for distributing foods.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
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