‘Taking away healthy meals from school children’: How USDA funding cuts could impact Pueblo

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• The Department of Agriculture is cutting funds to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).
• Colorado Governor Jared Polis criticized the cuts, stating they will negatively impact school children and Colorado farmers.
• Local organizations, such as the Care and Share Food Bank and the Pueblo Food Project, will be significantly affected by the funding cuts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is cutting funds to a program that helped distribute over $71,000 worth of food in Pueblo County and over $6.5 million statewide in the first two quarters of 2024.

Cuts to the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) are part of more than $1 billion in USDA cuts coming through the Trump administration’s slashing of funds throughout the federal government.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and other state leaders were critical of the USDA cuts, including LFPA cuts, in a March 12 news release.

“By cutting this funding, the Trump Administration is taking away healthy meals from school children and slashing contracts Colorado farmers depend on to support their businesses and workers,” Polis said. “Instead of helping communities put food on the table, this decision pulls resources from schools, food banks, and Colorado families.”

Existing LFPA agreements will be carried out, but a second round of funding will not be doled out in fiscal year 2025, a USDA spokesperson told Politico.

How LFPA cuts may impact Pueblo County

In Pueblo, organizations like Care and Share Food Bank, Pueblo Cooperative Care and the Pueblo Food Project have received LFPA funds for food pantries, schools, churches and other charitable organizations that distribute locally grown food.

Pueblo Food Project Co-Director Megan Moore told the Chieftain the organization will “definitely be affected” by federal cuts to the LFPA, as revenue streams for filling food pantries are already scarce. She said cuts also will impact local farms, small businesses, and residents who benefit from distributions.

“Local people who needed food were getting high-quality foods that came from somewhere very close to them when they went to get assistance from a food pantry,” Moore said. “You can’t downplay how important it is to have solid nutrition security, because it’s more than just food security.”

In 2023 and 2024, the Pueblo Food Project and its fiscal agent the HadaNou Collective have distributed LFPA-funded food to Blanket the City, Colorado Health Network, the East Side Action Support Team, Los Pobres, the Minnequa Elementary School Pantry Program, Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, the Pueblo Child Advocacy Center, Pueblo Cooperative Care Center, and Pueblo County Blessing Boxes.

Pueblo School District 60, Pueblo United, Rocky Mountain SER Empowerment Center and the Senior Resource Development Agency (SRDA) also received LFPA-funded food from the Pueblo Food Project, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado also distributed LFPA-funded food to several Pueblo County organizations. In a written statement shared with the Chieftain, Care and Share President Nate Springer called the LFPA “a resounding success” over the past two years.

“The program has enabled us to invest in Colorado’s hard-working farmers and focus funds into rural conservative counties,” Springer’s statement reads. “The program helped us deliver healthy and nutritious food to 289 partner agencies across our 29-county service area.”

While stating that the $1 million in federal USDA cuts will reduce Care and Share’s ability to invest in local farms, he said the organization looks forward to continuing work with Congress, the state of Colorado and the USDA.

Pueblo organizations receiving LFPA-funded food through Care and Share have included the Avenue Church, Cooking Matters, the Center for Disabilities, Crossroads Turning Points, Colorado State University Pueblo’s Pack Pantry, Ecumenical Church of Pueblo West, Friendly Harbor, Full Force Ministries, Luv in Action, Lynn Gardens Baptist Church and Mariposa Center for Safety.

The Minnequa Elementary School Pantry Program, Minnequa VFW Post 3641, Mt. Carmel Pueblo MFP, Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, Nutrition Education Center, Pueblo Community College Panther Food Pantry, Pueblo Cooperative Care, Pueblo Mobile Market, Pueblo United, RMSER Pueblo, Salvation Army, Stepping Stones Day School and Valley Community Church also have received food from Care and Share.

Pueblo Cooperative Care also has directly received LFPA funds for its own distributions. They received over $91,000 in food between 2023 and 2024, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services.

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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at [email protected]. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.