This article is part of a partnership between The Mendocino Voice and nonprofit newsroom EdSource to bring relevant education-related news to Mendocino County readers. Learn more about EdSource here.
FRESNO CO., 3/15/25 – Federal decisions to cut the Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement could impact school lunches nationwide, the Fresno Bee reported.
According to the Bee, the program would have distributed $600 million to schools across the country to purchase local, minimally processed, foods — and particularly those that come from “historically underserved farmers/producers/fishers and small businesses.”
During the 2022-23 academic year, the Fresno Unified School District received $492,746 from the program, spokesperson A.J. Kato told the Bee.
The decision to gut the program comes amid broader cuts to farming programs, including the Farms Together Program, which was intended to support small farmers, while also stocking food assistance programs, including food banks and pantries.
“I worry about the future of our small farmers,” Paul Towers, the executive director of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, told the Bee.
“We are already losing farms at an alarming rate and we had a program that prioritized small farmers who were struggling and now it’s gone. I am concerned that it will drive more small farms out of business.”
This article first appeared in at EdSource here.
People need to learn to be self sufficient