FILE PHOTO: Volunteers assemble boxes of food for seniors ahead of the holidays at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
(Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Senate will ask the Department of Agriculture to reverse the cancellation of programs that have funneled more than $2 billion for local food purchases to schools and food banks, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters.
The cancellation of the local food purchasing programs is the latest blow to farmers from the Trump administration's actions to slash government spending and staff. Farmers have already seen grants frozen by USDA, commodity sales for foreign aid disrupted and a trade war with the country's top agricultural trading partners.
