Colorado loses $7.5 million for schools, food banks as USDA slashes assistance programs

Colorado school districts used the federal program to purchase local food and support “socially disadvantaged” and small farmers, producers and ranchers, according to the USDA’s website.

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Colorado will lose more than $7.5 million in federal funding for programs that help schools and food banks buy produce and other items from local farms and ranches, Gov. Jared Polis announced Wednesday.

The cuts come because the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed two programs — the Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance initiatives — that together spent more than a $1 billion each year on schools and food banks, Reuters reported.

“By cutting this funding, the Trump administration is taking away healthy meals from school children and slashing contracts Colorado farmers depend on to support their businesses and workers,” Polis said in a statement. “Instead of helping communities put food on the table, this decision pulls resources from schools, food banks and Colorado families.”

Colorado school districts used the federal program to purchase local food and support “socially disadvantaged” and small farmers, producers and ranchers, according to the USDA’s website.

Thirty-three school districts received more than $2.6 million between Sept. 1, 2022, and Feb. 29, 2024, said Jeremy Meyer, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Education.

“While we shared information about this funding opportunity with school districts in January, the application process (for the next round of funding) had not yet opened so this termination did not apply to any current grantees,” he said in a statement.

Districts that previously received money from the program include Denver Public Schools, Cherry Creek School District, Mesa County Valley School District 51 and Roaring Fork School District. Boulder Valley School District received the most money — $986,462 — from the program, according the state education department.

DPS, the state’s largest district, received $106,400 from the program to buy local produce but did not anticipate further funding after the grant ended last year because of “the size of our school district,”  spokesman Scott Pribble said. 

Mandy Nuku, executive director of Feeding Colorado, which represents the state’s five food banks, said she was concerned about the elimination of the Local Food Purchase Assistance program during a time of increased need for food banks’ offerings.

“An important source of support for our Colorado producers is gone, and a point of access to fresh, local foods for neighbors will no longer be available,” Nuku said in a statement. “This program provided a solution to one of the biggest challenges for small and midsize farms — market access.”

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