The U.S. Department of Agriculture reportedly has cut more than $1 billion in federal spending by ending two Biden executive-ordered programs by which schools and food banks bought food from local farms and ranchers.
Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) are the two programs affected, Politico reported.
"These programs, created under the former administration via executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency," a USDA spokesperson said, Politico reported.
The LFS program targeted roughly $660 million for schools and child care facilities, which used the money to purchase food from nearby farms. The School Nutrition Association said the program "will no longer be available" for this year.
More than 40 states had signed agreements in the previous year to participate in LFS, according to SNA and several state agencies, Politico reported.
LFPA, which supports food banks and other organizations, also has been cut.
The USDA notified states it would fund existing LFPA agreements but did not plan to pursue a additional funding for fiscal year 2025.
Late last week, it was reported the USDA has eliminated two committees that advise it on food safety.
The USDA eliminated the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, a spokesperson said.
The committees provided scientific advice to the USDA and other federal agencies on public-health issues related to food safety, said the non-profit consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports.
The Biden administration expanded the spending for the LFS and LFPA programs by more than $1 billion through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the Trump administration is making agencies more efficient, including to better serve farmers.
Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins has said USDA is considering direct payments to farmers again if trade wars lead to farm losses.
Under the first Trump administration, farmers received about $217 billion in farm payments, including crop support, disaster, and aid programs – more than in any prior four-year period since 1933, according to a Reuters examination of USDA data.
Adjusted for inflation, the only period with more spending on farmers was 1984 to 1988, when a farm economic crisis battered rural America.
Reuters contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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