INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut over $1 billion in federal funding for schools and food banks.
This comes at a time when WRTV has reported that Indiana-based food banks and pantries are seeing an increased need.
“We’ll keep doing what we can with the resources that we have," Emily Bryant with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry said.
The nonprofit partners with 11 food banks across Indiana’s 92 counties.
Member food banks, including Indianapolis-based Gleaners, have distributed 130 million pounds of food to Hoosiers in need.
Bryant says the need continues to grow year after year.
“Our network of food banks have always purchased food locally, as much as we can, we purchase millions of pounds of food each year to keep up with the pace we’re seeing at our food banks," she said.
But the ability to purchase food from Indiana farmers and ranchers just got harder.
This week, the USDA announced it would cut two programs that help schools and food banks buy from local farmers.
One of them, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, would have funded about $500 million this year.
“Obviously, we want to support the local ag economy. It certainly cuts down on freight, because you don’t have to ship food as far and that enables us to work within our local community to create some sustainability for farmers.”
The LFPA allocation for Indiana is $6.9 million, with an additional LFPA Plus allocation of about $5.9 million with a total award for Indiana of about $12.8 million.
“Currently, Indiana still has some of the first two rounds of funding that it will continue to spend so our food banks with what’s left will continue to purchase products for local farmers as long that we possibly can for the funding that exists," Bryant said.
WRTV reached out to the USDA to ask why these programs were cut.
Read the full statement here:
As a pandemic-era program, LFPA will now be sunsetted at the end of the performance period, marking a return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives. This isn't an abrupt shift-just last week, USDA released over half a billion in previously obligated funds for LFPA and LFS to fulfill existing commitments and support ongoing local food purchases.With 16 robust nutrition programs in place, USDA remains focused on its core mission: strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious food. Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in CCC funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID era is over-USDA's approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward.
