Community Food Services NAICS 624210

May 15, 2025 - Louisiana Officials Seek Restart Of Federal Assistance Program

• Louisiana lawmakers are asking Congress to bring back a $1 billion federal program that allows schools, child care programs, and food banks to purchase locally grown food. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, both administered through the US Department of Agriculture, were eliminated in March 2024 as part of the Trump administration’s move to reduce federal government spending. “We can’t make up what the federal government cuts for food banks. We can ask for help, but it doesn’t make it up,” Feeding Louisiana executive director Pat Van Burkleo said.
• The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to end two federal programs that provided more than $1 billion in funding for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farms. The Trump administration suggested that the cuts were made as part of a Department of Government Efficiency-led effort to reduce spending in the federal government, according to The Independent. The USDA notified states that it was unfreezing funds for existing agreements for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides food to food banks and organizations that reach underserved communities, but did not plan to carry out a second round of funding for fiscal year 2025, according to Politico. An estimated $420 million of federal funds were expected to go toward the program in 2025, the USDA website shows.

• Demand at food banks remains high as there has been little financial relief like rental assistance and additional Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program checks since the end of pandemic-era programs, according to Erin Kelly, director of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (GPCFB). The GPCFB distributed more food from July 2023 thorugh June 2024 than ever before. Food prices are beginning to stabilize after historic inflation but families are still paying high grocery bills with no real end in sight, Kelly said.
• Community food service industry employment increased slightly and average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first three months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Personal income, an indicator of demand for community food services, increased moderately in 2024, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Demand for community food services is likely to decrease as personal income increases.