ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Two programs that allowed local farmers to sell their produce to schools and food banks are now gone. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped $1 billion worth of funding, impacting school meal programs and child care centers.
As food costs have risen within the last few years, more families are turning to food banks and other feeding organizations to help support their families.
The programs whose funding has been cut are the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA). The funds allowed these programs to provide locally grown foods to students in lunch programs and provided small businesses and farmers with another stream of income…