Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and 30 of their colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately reverse more than $1.1 billion in cuts to programs devoted to supplying fresh, nutritious foods from local farmers to public schools and food banks—as Washington state faces a $20 million loss from USDA’s cuts to the Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA).
The LFS and LFPA programs have successfully increased access to locally-grown, nutritious food in low-income communities and helped family farmers, fishermen, and local food producers significantly expand their markets. This year, the programs were set to distribute $660 million for schools and child care facilities and $500 million for food banks to work with local farmers within a set geographic range to purchase local food from farmers, fishermen, and food producers—before Trump’s USDA suddenly decided that these programs, which provide nutritious food to hungry Americans, “no longer effectuate the goals of the agency” and unilaterally ripped away their funding.
“At a time when food insecurity remains high, providing affordable, fresh food to food banks and families while supporting American farmers is critical. Notably, LFPA and LFS have benefitted producers and consumers by providing funding for purchases through all 50 states, four territories, and 84 tribal governments,” Murray and the other senators wrote in their letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the Trump administration to reverse course on these cuts.
“Through LFPA and LFS, USDA has prioritized the procurement and distribution of healthy, nutritious, domestic food. It has also taken an important step towards igniting rural prosperity by expanding and strengthening markets among farmers and rural economies. As of December 2024, the programs had supported over 8,000 producers, providing increased marketing opportunities,” the senators continued. “We ask that you reverse the cancellation of FLPA and LFS.”
“We have grave concerns that the cancellation of LFPA and LFS poses extreme harm to producers and communities in every state across the country. At a time of uncertainty in farm country, farmers need every opportunity to be able to expand market access for their products,” the senators concluded.
These drastic cuts come as Republican budget proposals threaten access to critical nutrition assistance programs and as the demand on local food banks across the nation continues to soar across the nation.
In addition to Senators Murray, Reed, and Schiff, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Ben Ray Luján (D-NM); Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Tina Smith (D-MN); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Ron Wyden (D-OR); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Martin Heinrich (D-NM); Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Michael Bennet (D-CO); Elissa Slotkin (D-MI); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Raphael Warnock (D-GA); Tammy Baldwin (D-WI); Richard Durbin (D-IL); Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV); Angus King (I-ME); Bernie Sanders (I-VT); John Hickenlooper (D-CO); Gary Peters (D-MI); Jacky Rosen (D-NV); Peter Welch (D-VT); Alex Padilla (D-CA); Cory Booker (D-NJ); Ed Markey (D-MA); and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).
Full text of the letter is below and HERE.
Dear Secretary Rollins:
We write to express serious concerns regarding the cancellation of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs supporting local and regional food purchases providing assistance to those in need. These successful programs, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), allow states, territories, and Tribes to purchase local foods from nearby farmers and ranchers to be used for emergency food providers, schools, and child care centers.
At a time when food insecurity remains high, providing affordable, fresh food to food banks and families while supporting American farmers is critical. Notably, LFPA and LFS have benefitted producers and consumers by providing funding for purchases through all 50 states, four territories, and 84 tribal governments.
Through LFPA and LFS, USDA has prioritized the procurement and distribution of healthy, nutritious, domestic food. It has also taken an important step towards igniting rural prosperity by expanding and strengthening markets among farmers and rural economies. As of December 2024, the programs had supported over 8,000 producers, providing increased marketing
opportunities.
Most importantly, we ask that you reverse the cancellation of LFPA and LFS. We also ask that you provide a thorough and complete update on USDA’s implementation of LFPA and LFS,
including answers to the following questions:
- What is the status of reimbursements for entities that have agreements with USDA through LFPA and LFS? What is the last date for which states, territories, and Tribes received reimbursements for food purchases under LFPA and LFS?
- Has the Administration conducted any assessments of how these program cancellations will impact producers and recipient organizations (e.g., food banks, schools, child care centers)? If so, please provide a copy of any such assessments.
We have grave concerns that the cancellation of LFPA and LFS poses extreme harm to producers and communities in every state across the country. At a time of uncertainty in farm country, farmers need every opportunity to be able to expand market access for their products.
Please provide responses to the information requested in our questions no later than Friday, April 4. Thank you for your attention to this urgent and important matter.
Sincerely,
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