President Donald Trump's administration has cut more than $10 million in federal funding that would have been used to buy fresh produce from local farmers to be used in Kansas schools and food banks.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut over $1 billion nationwide from the two programs, USA TODAY reported. Kansas government officials told The Capital-Journal that the state had expected to receive about $10.6 million combined from the programs.

"President Trump's decision to defund the Local Food Purchase Assistance program pulls the rug out from Kansas farmers who have already invested in their crops with the expectation that their products would be purchased at the end of the season," Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement. "This thoughtless decision harms our agricultural industry, threatens the Kansas economy, and will adversely affect Kansans who rely on fresh, local foods. Our farmers and communities do not need this uncertainty."

School lunch program loses $8 million

Through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program , USDA awarded funds to states to help buy local food to be distributed to educational institutions.

"This program will strengthen the food system for schools and childcare institutions by helping to build a fair, competitive, and resilient local food chain, and expand local and regional markets with an emphasis on purchasing from historically underserved producers and processors," according to USDA.

Kansas State Department of Education spokesperson Denise Kahler told The Capital-Journal the agency was notified by USDA of the cut on March 7.

"The Kansas State Department of Education was poised to receive a total of $7,982,630 for the LFSCC allocation," Kahler said.

Of that nearly $8 million, about $5.8 million would have been allocated to the School Nutrition Program while about $2.2 million would have gone to the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The funds would have been available over the course of three years.

"At the time of the agreement termination, Kansas had not received any LFSCC funds nor allocated funds to any child nutrition program operators," Kahler said.

Prior to the funds being revoked, the state had not yet determined how much funding individual districts would have received.

"These funds represented 100% allocation for Kansas products," Kahler said. "There would not have been any overhead, administrative costs, or any miscellaneous costs. These are true dollars that would have benefitted Kansas producers and provided access to high quality meals to Kansas children.

"This money was in addition to the standard meal reimbursement that schools and child care providers receive."

Food bank program loses $2.6 million

Through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program , USDA awarded funds to state to buy local food for certain organizations, including food banks.

"The purpose of this program is to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency," according to USDA. It was intended to provide food that is "healthy, nutritious, unique to their geographic areas and that meet the needs of the population."

"In addition to increasing local food consumption, the funds will help build and expand economic opportunity for local and underserved producers," according to USDA.

Kansas Department of Agriculture spokesperson Heather Lansdowne told The Capital-Journal the agency has been notified that the program's funding was terminated.

"KDA was anticipating $2,643,574 for this program this year," she said.

"The Kansas Local Food Purchase Assistance program purchased and distributed Kansas grown and processed foods to underserved communities, families, and individuals across Kansas over the past two years," Lansdowne said. "Kansas food banks used these funds to purchase fresh, local foods directly from farmers and producers in their areas."

The more than $2.6 million in funding had been announced by USDA in December and cooperative agreements were signed by January.

"The original funds have been allocated by the local food banks that we partner with," Lansdowne said. "With this news of cancellation, there will be no additional purchases made under the federal program in Kansas."

Kansas and Harvesters had celebrated food bank program

The local food for Kansas food banks program was announced by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service in an August 2022 news release and a visit to Harvesters Community Food Bank in Lawrence.

"USDA is excited to partner with Kansas to promote economic opportunities for farmers and producers and to increase access to locally sourced, fresh, healthy, and nutritious food in underserved communities," USDA undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt said at the time.

Officials said the funding would be used to purchase and distributed Kansas grown and processed foods to underserved communities affected by inflation and limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

"With this grant, we will be able to implement an exciting new program that will expand market opportunities for underserved local food growers and producers while also providing local food to underserved communities and families across Kansas," Kansas agriculture secretary Mike Beam said at the time. "This partnership with local producers and with the state’s food bank distribution network will benefit Kansans throughout the food supply chain."

The state sub-awarded funds to the three major foods in Kansas, which collectively serve all 105 counties.

The program was highlighted in August 2023 during an event at the Harvesters location in Topeka. There, farmers from Silver Lake, Manhattan and Lawrence unloaded boxes of fresh produce, including melons, squash, peppers, cucumbers, onions and more.

USDA had celebrated local meat for Kansas schools

The school program was celebrated in April 2023, when the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service sent out a news release announcing the expansion to Kansas.

"This grant provides a much-needed solution to the supply chain issues and rising food costs our school nutrition programs have faced over the last few years," Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson said at the time. "Kansas schools will be able to increase access to locally raised, high-quality meats while supporting small businesses — producers, ranchers and meat processors in Kansas."

In the 2023 announcement, USDA officials said the funds would help purchase and distribute local and regional foods that "will be healthy and unique to their geographic area, with the goal of improving child nutrition and building new relationships between schools and local farmers."

At least some of the funds were for the purchase of unprocessed or minimally processed meats. The program's executive summary said small-scale producers have historically struggled to sell to schools due to a variety of barriers. USDA indicated the goal was to develop the infrastructure for schools to buy local meat that could be sustained after the program ended.

"This cooperative agreement supporting Kansas schools is another example of how USDA is working to build a more resilient food system rooted in local and regional production," Moffitt said at the time. She said the program "provides an opportunity for states to strengthen ties between local farmers, ranchers, food businesses and schools, and gives students access to nutritious foods unique to the area they live in, building stronger connections across local communities."

"Strengthening relationships between local producers and schools is a long-term strategy to ensure our children always have access to nutritious foods in school, a win-win for child health and American agriculture," USDA deputy under secretary Stacy Dean said at the time. "Through this program and many other efforts to support the school meal programs, USDA is committed to giving schools the tools they need to set children up to learn, grow, and thrive."