By DOUG LaROCQUE
Capital Region Independent Media
GHENT–NYVT Media continues this week to look at the impact the new tariffs and federal funding cuts are having locally. In the spotlight for this story is the elimination of the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program funding for 2025.
These federal dollars were earmarked for states, tribes and territories so they could purchase healthy foods from farmers and suppliers within their own communities to serve at schools and childcare centers.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has also cut the 2025 funds for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program, which provided supplies from local farms to food banks and organizations in underserved communities.
The total cuts amount to over $1 billion with $660 million of that money slated to go to schools to make local food purchases.
The USDA has labeled these programs as Covid-19 funding.
“The Covid era is over — USDA’s approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward,” according to a statement from the USDA announcing the cuts.
The American Farmland Trust, with an office in Saratoga Springs, is critical of the cuts, saying New York will “lose the opportunity to purchase and distribute local, nutritious foods to those most in need. Farmers stand to lose economically, as they have invested time and resources into the infrastructure needed to sell to institutions.”
State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-41st), speaking about Agriculture Week on the floor of the New York State Senate, said, “Access to healthy food shouldn’t be partisan or controversial—it’s a right all of us should have, and one that we’re fighting to protect in New York.”
Senator Hinchey added that the state is seeking to protect small local farms.
“While Washington pushes policies that benefit large corporate farms, New York is fighting for our small family farms,” Senator Hinchey said. “We’re helping new farmers start new businesses, helping longstanding farmers lower their costs, providing workforce support, and protecting farmland.”
Responding from the other side of the political aisle is Republican Assemblyman Matt Simpson (R-114th).
“Recent funding adjustments resulting from DOGE’s work are creating mid-year challenges for schools to purchase locally sourced produce for school meals. This impact for some in the district could represent up to 10% of their food budget,” Assemblyman Simpson said.
He added, “While we understand this reflects a broader effort to consolidate resources and focus on specific objectives, the timing has required schools to adapt quickly. As we look ahead, we remain hopeful that successful programs will continue under new or existing agencies at a federal level. In the meantime, we’re doubling down on our efforts to secure universal school meals and an increase in SNAP benefits in the state budget. We want to make sure every family has access to nutritious, local food.”
A component of this year’s New York state budget negotiations is funding for free school meals for all schools in the state, a measure that has significant bi-partisan support.
Schoharie County Agriculture Development Specialist Caroline Myran has previously stated the highly controversial tariffs may not impact that county’s farms all that much because they are small local operations who do little, if any, international trade. But when it comes to the Local Food for Schools Program, that is a different story.
Ms. Myran said several schools have taken advantage of this opportunity to feed their students fresh produce, fruits, milk and other nutrition staples versus the use of more highly processed foods. It also provides the county’s farmers with a critical source of local income. She is hopeful that if the Legislature and the governor approve universal school meals, the money for those food purchases can be used to replace the lost federal funding.
Several school districts in the region said they were part of the Local Food for Schools Program to varying degrees.
According to the Cambridge School District in Washington County, “Like many other districts, we did participate in the program. Last year, we received the local Foods for Schools grant. The grant helped establish relationships with local vendors. Without the grant, we are still able to purchase produce, milk, meat, cheese, etc. from those local vendors with our budget.”
Other districts, like the Ichabod Crane Central School District in Columbia County, choose not to participate at all, instead using their own funding.
Several districts around the region did not respond to requests for comment.
The New York State Farm Bureau has been a strong supporter of the program on both the state and federal levels. They noted that since 2012, New York has lost about 2,100 farms, the largest decline in over two decades. The bureau said that for New York’s 32,000 farm families, “school meal programs are a well-established market with exciting potential.”
The Farm Bureau is encouraging Governor Kathy Hochul and lawmakers to fully fund a Healthy School Meals for All provision in the new state budget.
“By ensuring that every student in New York has access to healthy, locally sourced meals, we can deliver a win for both New York families and farmers,” according to the bureau.
