USDA cuts $26 million for New Jersey food banks, school lunches

🍅 Gov. Murphy says it will make getting fresh food harder

🍅 USDA will make $1 billion in cuts nationwide, reports say

🍅 Students learn better when they have healthy meals

The Trump administration has cut $26 million in funding that got local fresh produce to New Jersey food banks and schools.

The lost funding is split: $9.9 million had been allocated to purchase fruits and veggies from New Jersey farms for food banks while $16.2 million was set to do the same for school breakfasts and lunches.

There are 46 producers across New Jersey who will be affected by the cuts, Gov. Phil Murphy and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said in a joint statement.

"The Trump Administration’s decision to cut these critical food programs will make it harder to access fresh and healthy food, exacerbating food insecurity in vulnerable communities," Murphy said.

Food program cuts are nationwide

It's part of a national cut by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program.

The funding agreements will end 60 days from this past Friday, a USDA spokesperson said to Politico in a statement.

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"These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency. LFPA and LFPA Plus agreements that were in place prior to LFPA 25, which still have substantial financial resources remaining, will continue to be in effect for the remainder of the period of performance,” the spokesperson said.

Healthy meals linked to better school performance

It's widely accepted that healthy, free lunches lead to overall higher performance in school.

According to the CDC, there is a "significant association between academic grades and dietary behaviors."

School Nutrition Association, a nonprofit, said 850 school nutrition professionals went to Washington, D.C. to urge Congress to oppose the cuts.

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“These proposals would cause millions of children to lose access to free school meals at a time when working families are struggling with rising food costs," SNA President Shannon Gleave said.

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