Warrick County, IN – In a move that has left many local communities and farmers concerned, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that it will be defunding the Local Food for Schools program, which directly supported the purchase of fresh, local produce and meat for school meals across the country.
Introduced in 2021 in response to the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was designed to allow schools and childcare institutions to buy food from local farmers. It quickly became an important lifeline for many districts, including Warrick County School Corporation, where officials praised the initiative for helping bring fresh, locally sourced ingredients to the lunch trays of students.
Shenae Rowe, the Food and Nutrition Director for Warrick County Schools, expressed her disappointment in the USDA’s decision. “This program allowed us to purchase some local produce and meat from local farmers to serve right to our kids,” Rowe said. “We were able to provide items like fresh ground beef, honey, romaine lettuce, butternut squash, and more directly from our community.”
The USDA’s decision to cut funding has left many school districts scrambling. While Warrick County Schools have vowed to continue sourcing similar foods through other means, Rowe noted that it would likely be impossible to maintain the same level of support for local farmers. “School nutrition programs across the state and across the country are underfunded,” she said. “We have to be very careful with how we spend those funds, and unfortunately, we won’t be able to afford locally sourced meat moving forward.”
In addition to the impact on school meal quality, Rowe expressed concern for local farmers who had benefited from the program. “We built strong relationships with our local farmers,” Rowe said. “That’s a connection that’s difficult to sustain without the funding of this program. It’s really concerning for both us and them.”
Despite these challenges, Rowe remained optimistic about the school district’s ability to find solutions. “Our programs are already underfunded, but we’re resilient,” she said. “We will find a way to make it work and continue providing nutritious meals to our students. We won’t give them anything less than what they deserve.”
Warrick County Schools is not the only district affected by the defunding of Local Food for Schools. The program, which operated in around 40 states, supported the purchase of locally produced food in school districts nationwide. As the USDA prepares to terminate the program within the next 60 days, many are hopeful that policymakers may reconsider the decision before it is too late.
For now, Warrick County officials are left to navigate the future of their school nutrition program without the federal funding that had made it possible to support local agriculture while providing fresh food for students.
