The US has cut funding for school feeding programs
Kyiv • UNN
The US Department of Agriculture is discontinuing two programs that helped schools and food banks buy food from local farmers. The cost cuts are part of the government's policy.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is suspending two programs that helped schools and food banks buy food from local farmers during COVID-19. This is reported by CNN, writes UNN.
Details
According to the publication, this means that about one billion dollars will no longer be allocated to help schools and food banks. The termination of these programs is part of the government's policy to reduce costs, which was initiated by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.
Officially, the USDA explains this by saying that the pandemic is over and they want to focus on long-term solutions. At the same time, they have allocated more than $500 million from previously planned money for these programs.
The School Nutrition Association condemned the cuts, noting that about $660 million for schools will be lost. School districts are already facing persistently high costs for food, labor, and equipment, according to the group.
The Local Produce for Schools program has allowed consistently underfunded school meal programs to purchase fresh, local produce for student lunches - from local vegetables, fresh fish or meat from neighboring ranches to cheese, yogurt and milk from local dairies. In addition to losing benefits for our children, this loss of funds is a major blow to local farmers and ranches and detrimental to school meal programs struggling to cope with rising food and labor costs
The closure of the two programs comes against the backdrop of attempts by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce the federal government.