The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a program on Monday intended to get more locally grown food into school cafeterias.
Harvest to Hallways was announced alongside the Department of Health and Human Services and packages together grant funding, kitchen equipment money and nutrition research. A USDA news release described it as the next phase of the administration's Make America Healthy Again objective.
What is in it
The department pledged an additional 25 million dollars for Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants for fiscal year 2026, on top of nearly 20 million already awarded across 37 states. Another 50 million goes to school cafeterias for equipment such as cold storage and stoves, which lets kitchens handle fresh local product. Health and Human Services is investing 30 million dollars in research into practical ways to put healthier meals on students' trays.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the program is about "bringing more American agriculture into the school cafeteria."
The objection
Farm groups say the money does not replace what was cut. Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said the new investments "fall far short" of the Local Food for Schools program the department terminated in March 2025. That program put more than one billion dollars nationally into local food for schools, food banks and nonprofits in 2024.
Tommy Hexter of the Iowa Food System Coalition said equipment shortages have been a "major barrier" for schools trying to use local food, and that schools and farmers need reliable long-term programs rather than one-time investments.
Reported by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch, published by the Nebraska Examiner.