Louisiana Officials Lament Loss of USDA Money to Help Schools, Food Banks Buy From Local Farmers

By Shannon Heckt

Louisiana lawmakers are asking Congress to bring back a $1 billion federal program that allows schools, child care programs, and food banks to purchase locally grown produce and protein. 

The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, both administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, were axed in March as part of the Trump administration’s move to reduce federal government spending. 

Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said some small and mid-sized farms had already started planting and planning for their crops to be bought by schools or food banks through the defunded initiatives.

“[If they are lost], it would be detrimental for the schools, it would be detrimental for those small farmers because they really rely on this,” Strain said.

Louisiana will lose out on more than  $18 million from the food-buying programs over the next three years, according to federal data. State Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Covington, authored Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 to urge Congress to put the funding back, specifically for schools. 

McMath is championing bills focused on the “Make America Healthy Again” movement to banish ultra-processed foods from school lunches. He said he believes local purchasing programs can help get healthier food options on children’s lunch trays.

In a state Senate Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday, Strain mentioned examples of Louisiana businesses taking a hit from the federal program cuts. 

Harris Cattle Co., a Ville Platte business, sells $380,000 worth of meat to nine school districts. Another farm sold $7,000 worth of okra to area schools, the agriculture commissioner said.

“Instead of using processed foods, we want food from scratch. We want fresh okra, we want fresh broccoli, we want fresh corn on the cob. That is what we are looking for,” Strain said.

Strain said he has been in direct contacted with members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation to make them aware of the impacts from the USDA spending reductions. U.S. Rep. Julie Letlow , R-Louisiana, sits on a House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture that met Wednesday to discuss the proposed federal budget. 

More information about the reorganization of the USDA is anticipated to be released in the coming weeks, which could mean a chance for the funding to return in some capacity, Strain said.

The Local Food for Schools Program began in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Biden Administration. A USDA spokesperson told Politico the programs “no longer effectuate the goals of the agency.” 

Local Food Purchase Assistance agreements in place prior to 2025 renewals were set to take effect, will remain in place for the remainder of their agreed-upon terms, according to the USDA.

McMath’s resolution does not specifically ask for food bank funding to be returned, but Feeding Louisiana executive director Pat Van Burkleo said he’ll work with a legislator next week to make that request. The latest USDA cuts come at a very inopportune time, as the Trump administration is also slashing the Emergency Food Assistance Program.

“We can’t make up what the federal government cuts for food banks. We can ask for help, but it doesn’t make it up,” Van Burkleo said.

Feeding Louisiana represents the state’s five regional food banks, which cover all 64 parishes. The group is spreading a petition to gain the attention of Gov. Jeff Landry to get his support for calling on Congress to restore the funding. Their goal is 500 signatures by next week. As of Wednesday, the count was already over 260.

Van Burkleo said losing this funding not only harms schools trying to serve healthy foods, but also small farmers who often work multiple jobs without avenues to sell their produce on a greater scale.

“It is a great program designed to help the small, underserved minority farmers in rural communities. They have never had this opportunity to get this kind of dollars,” Van Burkleo said.

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