Call to Action: Tracking Federal Funding Cuts Impacting Farm to Institution in Maine

4/2/2025 - FY25 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Cancelled

BACKGROUND

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program is an annual competitive federal grant program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program assists grantees in the planning, development, and implementation of Farm to School programs with the goal of connecting school-age children and adults to their food sources through nutrition education, school gardens, and local food procurement. Since 2013, the program has awarded $100 million for a total of 1,275 projects (NSFN).

CANCELLATION

In late March of 2025, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the cancellation of the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program for fiscal year 2025, which would have provided $10 million to help schools and early care and education (ECE) centers incorporate local foods, nutrition education, and garden activities into their meal programs.

Resources

See the impact of the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant on the NFSN Dashboard

Take Action

Contact members of the senate and congress in support of the Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant program

Sign and share this petition calling on USDA to recognize the need for vital investments in farmers and child nutrition

Share your story of how the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program helped your community

3/7/2025 - USDA Terminates Program for Local Food in Schools and Child Care (LFSCC)

BACKGROUND

Established in 2021 as part of federal COVID-19 relief efforts, the Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement Program was administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The program allocated up to $200 million in non-competitive funding to state agencies through cooperative agreements spanning 2021 to 2023. These funds were designated exclusively for purchasing unprocessed or minimally processed local foods from small and medium-sized farmers, ranchers, and underserved producers, aiming to enhance K-12 school meal programs.

In October of 2024, the USDA unveiled a $660 million second round, rebranded as Local Food in Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) to include childcare centers who partake in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). This new round of funding proposed $472 million for K-12 schools and $189 million for childcare sites.

The LFSCC program was slated to provide Maine with nearly $2.8 million over the next three years, enabling schools and childcare sites to purchase locally sourced food and support regional farmers.

TERMINATION

On March 7, 2025, USDA terminated the program, as well as its companion initiative, the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (LFPA) citing a shift in agency priorities. With the program's termination, Maine schools will lose nearly $2.8 million over the next three years, impacting the quality and sourcing of food available to students.

IMPACT

Before the federal program’s launch in the 2022-2023 school year, Maine schools spent a total of $128,000 on local food state wide. Following the implementation of the LFSCC program, that figure more than quadrupled the following year. Learn more about the benefits of Local Food Purchasing Incentives on the economy, public health, and education.

The cancellation of these programs represents a setback for Maine’s local food systems, rural communities, farmers, and schools who benefitted from these programs. Without this funding, schools and childcare sites will struggle to maintain their commitment to supporting local farmers and providing fresh local food to students.

RESOURCES

Full Plates Full Potential Federal Nutrition Programs Town Hall - March 18, 2025

Learn more about the termination of LFSCC and Take Action

Media Tracker: Local Food for Schools and Child Care and FY25 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant

Local food for schools helps farmers and kids. So why is Trump cutting funding? | School meals | The Guardian - NFSN’s Senior Director of Programs and Policy, Sunny Baker’s, op-ed in the Guardian

Take Action

Will you be impacted by these federal cuts? Share your story

Voice your support for the Local Food for Schools and Child Care Program

Contact Your Representatives — Full Plates Full Potential

3/28/2025 - Termination of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (LFPA) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

Background

The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) was initiated by the USDA in December 2021 as part of the Build Back Better Food System Transformation initiative. Funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, the program aimed to to support local and regional producers, address food insecurity, and enhance supply chain resilience.

Through the LFPA program, The USDA allocated approximately $900 million nationwide from 2021-2024. These funds were used to source food from over 8,000 local producers. The food was then distributed to approximately 7,900 food banks, food pantries, and community organizations across the nation. The USDA's cancellation of this program means the loss of about $1.3 million in funding for Maine, reducing the availability of fresh, local produce for food-insecure residents.

Additionally, the USDA has also paused deliveries through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), a program that supplied about 1 million pounds of food to Maine food pantries. The termination of these programs will impact our Maine communitities in many ways. Food banks and assistance programs will likely face increased challenges in meeting the needs of food-insecure residents, potentially leading to reduced access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations. Additionally, local farmers who previously benefited from these programs may experience economic setbacks due to the loss of a reliable and expected market for their produce.