Bitter Taste: Free Lunches Helped Me Get to College, and Now the Burden For Children to Have Access to Healthy Food in Schools Lies on States and Taxpayers.

As a child who survived with the help of the free lunch program when my parents were struggling, the news today regarding the extreme budget cuts for free lunches hurts my heart. On March 11, 2025, the U.S. Agriculture Department confirmed that they had received news that two federal programs, with a budget of over $1 billion annually, which helped schools and food banks buy food from local farms and ranches, will cease to continue feeding low-income children in underserved schools located in high-poverty communities.

The School Nutrition Association, representing cafeteria workers and directors nationwide, issued a press release stating that the USDA cut the $660 million Local Food for Schools program for 2025.

Politico, citing a spokesperson for the USDA, reported that the department also cut the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which would have funded about $500 million this year to support food banks.

The USDA sent an email stating that it had notified states, territories, and tribes that the money for fiscal year 2025 "is no longer available, and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification."

It said the programs created under the previous administration "no longer effectuate the agency’s goals.

Ending the programs is part of an aggressive effort by President Donald Trump's administration to sharply shrink the federal government and reduce the amount of money it spends.

The move comes as Trump has imposed new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, sparking trade wars with the biggest buyers of U.S. farm products.

Which States Will Be Impacted?

The impact of these cuts will vary by state and depend on their reliance on the LFS program. States that have integrated these funds into their operational plans for school meal programs and food banks will face significant challenges.

According to USDA, the following states have signed with USDA on the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program:

• Alabama

• Alaska

• Arizona

• Arkansas

• California

• Colorado

• Connecticut

• Florida

• Georgia

• Hawaii

• Illinois

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Kansas

• Kentucky

• Louisiana

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• Missouri

• Montana

• Nebraska

• Nevada

• New Hampshire

• New Jersey

• New York

• North Carolina

• Oklahoma

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• South Carolina

• Tennessee

• Texas

• Utah

• Vermont

• Washington

• West Virginia

• Wisconsin

• Wyoming

This affects not only states but also the underserved Tribal, rural, and urban communities who have limited access to healthy foods due to the high cost of food and restricted education and income for struggling parents.

The SNA has launched a nationwide advocacy campaign against the cuts, urging Congress to restore funding. According to a press release, school meal programs already operate on tight budgets and will struggle to meet federal nutrition standards without additional support.

"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.

The USDA maintains that other existing agreements will remain active for their performance periods. Still, advocates argue that the loss of these programs will have lasting consequences for food security in schools and communities.

Suppose states eliminate federal reimbursement for free school lunches or fail to find alternative funding. In that case, the costs for providing these meals will fall on state taxpayers, potentially leading to increased debt or reduced funding for other crucial services. 

Although the solutions are grim, free lunches for K-12 students must ultimately come from state funding. This could put those states in a financial deficit, which can increase taxes for states that rely on USDA funding for free lunches for children. 

As a solution, several foundations will have to prioritize funding focusing on free lunches to help serve the need but with over $500 million to cover the cost of all schools needing funding for their free lunch programs. 

Some of the foundations include but are not limited to:

1. The Walmart Foundation

• Focus: Supports initiatives to alleviate hunger, including grants to fund school meal programs.

• Impact: The Walmart Foundation has supported national programs like Feeding America, which often helps fund children's free lunch and meal programs.

• Example: They’ve contributed to the "Feeding America" network, which supports the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and local community programs that help provide nutritious meals to students.

2. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

• Focus: A significant part of their work is centered on food insecurity, which includes supporting school meal programs.

• Impact: The foundation has funded organizations that work to reduce child hunger and provide resources for nutritious meals in schools.

3. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Focus: This foundation works broadly in public health, including initiatives focused on healthy food access and child nutrition.

• Impact: They have supported expanding programs like "School Breakfast and Lunch," advocating for policy changes and contributing to funding programs that provide free meals in schools, particularly for lower-income students.

4. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

• Focus: The foundation has a history of investing in children’s health and wellness, including food security.

• Impact: The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has supported initiatives to reduce childhood hunger, including funding school lunch programs through collaborations with various nonprofits.

5. The Kellogg Foundation

• Focus: Works on child nutrition and food insecurity, specializing in supporting vulnerable populations.

• Impact: The foundation supports local, regional, and national programs that help children access healthy meals, including school-based lunch programs.

6. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• Focus: While primarily focused on global health, education, and poverty alleviation, the foundation has supported initiatives related to food security in U.S. schools.

• Impact: The Gates Foundation has funded initiatives that ensure children in underserved communities have access to nutritious meals at school, primarily through collaborations with local and national organizations.

7. The No Kid Hungry Campaign (Funded by Share Our Strength)

• Focus: Specifically aims to end child hunger in the United States.

• Impact: While technically a program, No Kid Hungry is often funded by various foundations and partners, working directly with schools to provide free lunches and other meal programs for low-income children.

8. The Annie E. Casey Foundation

• Focus: This foundation works on improving outcomes for children, with a strong emphasis on food security.

• Impact: The Annie E. Casey Foundation funds programs that address hunger and support initiatives to provide free or reduced-price school meals.

As a child who once needed free lunches to survive and focus, the free lunches helped me, alongside my father, who helped me increase my grades, get into AP English and AP History, and even pass my challenging subjects (Math and Chemistry). Free lunches helped me gain access to higher education, and I am worried about the children who no longer have the healthy foods that they will need to succeed as well. How will they be able to focus with grumbling stomachs in schools? How will this affect their health and their parent’s ability to keep their children from the grips of CPS because of lack of nutrition? How is this a solution when access to healthy foods should be a right and not a privilege, like those who make decisions without any knowledge of the struggles that the American people face?