BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) received notice from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Northeast Regional Office that the federal government cancelled the allocation of $3.4 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to Massachusetts.
According to the Office of Governor Maura Healey, the funding would provide 121,830 cases of pre-selected food items such as eggs, chicken, milk, fruit, pasta, beans and salmon to Massachusetts food banks to help feed residents.
The DESE also received notice from USDA that the federal government cancelled the Patrick Leahy Farm to School State Agency Grant Program for fiscal year 2025. The program, which first issued grants in 2013, sought to increase student access to nutritious, locally grown and produced foods, while also connecting students to their local food system and STEM educational opportunities focused on food literacy, nutrition, plant science and agriculture.
Massachusetts applied for $384,446 from the program for FY 2025. In 2024, the program awarded $14.3 million, serving 1.9 million students across the United States.
“Farm to school grants have been important funding sources to connect students with nutritious, local food and help set them on a path toward lifelong health.,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. These cuts harm our students, schools, farmers and local businesses and economy.
During the Trump Administration, the federal government also cut $500 million from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program that helped food banks purchase local, healthy food and more than $12 million from the Local Food for Schools grant funding that would have provided local, healthy food to child care programs and schools in Massachusetts.
