The Trump administration’s cancellation of two programs that allowed states to purchase fresh food from local farmers for use in schools and food banks has left the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) millions of dollars short in anticipated funding and has imperiled the Home Feeds Nevada program.
The Local Food Assistance Purchase Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS) were created by the Biden administration in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan.
In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — under President Joe Biden — announced a $1.1 billion expansion of the program. The NDA was set to receive about $4.1 million for LFS — planned for the state’s 63 school food authorities — and $3.9 million for LFPA for fiscal year 2025.
But on March 7, the NDA received a notification from the USDA that funds for the two programs had been terminated.
Under Trump, the USDA has argued that the programs were always meant to be short-lived as pandemic relief, and that the agency fulfilled its obligation by releasing all remaining funds that states had under their previous allocations. The program cancellation is part of the administration’s overall push for fiscal responsibility through spending cuts.
“Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in [Commodity Credit Corporation] funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to The Nevada Independent. “The COVID era is over — USDA’s approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward.”
But producers and food banks say the cut will imperil food aid at a time when the state is still struggling with food insecurity. Across the country, food bank usage increased at the onset of the pandemic and still has not returned to prepandemic levels. One in 7 Nevadans — and 1 in 5 children — faced hunger in 2024, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks that operate two locations in Nevada.
The Home Feeds Nevada program — the main mechanism by which the state disperses LFPA funds — was temporarily suspended, and NDA Food and Nutrition Administrator Patricia Hoppe said the program’s “ability to function will be significantly impacted without this funding.”
Rodney Mehring, the owner of Blue Lizard Farms in Caliente, was a LFPA participant through the Home Feeds Nevada Program. He noted that the federal funding helped subsidize his transportation costs to deliver the food to Las Vegas and allowed him to create jobs in Lincoln County.
“It’s just absolutely vital,” he said. “It’s vital for our rural communities.”
Home Feeds Nevada
Initially created in the 2021 legislative session, the Home Feeds Nevada program facilitates the purchase of fresh food by the Nevada Department of Agriculture from local producers for distribution at food banks throughout the state.
Through the federal grants created in LFPA and LFS, state departments of agriculture purchased fresh food from local producers and then distributed it to food banks or passed the funding through to school food authorities to buy and serve locally grown food for school lunches.
The goals of the program were twofold — combating hunger during the pandemic and supporting local farmers and producers. In their 2022 allocations, Nevada received $4.1 million for the LFPA and nearly $1.7 million for LFS. In addition, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Walker River Paiute Tribe received $290,000 and $294,000, respectively, through the LFPA program.
The goals of the program were twofold — combating hunger during the pandemic and supporting local farmers and producers. In their 2022 allocations, Nevada received $4.1 million for the LFPA and nearly $1.7 million for LFS. In addition, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Walker River Paiute Tribe received $290,000 and $294,000, respectively, through the LFPA program.
When the federal funding was terminated, Home Feeds Nevada had 18 participating producers to secure food for distribution at Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada in Sparks.
Mehring is one of them. The Home Feeds Nevada program provided a level of market certainty that allowed him to take more crop risks and produce more food. In 2023, he employed seven people. With the program’s funding cut, he’s planning to downsize, running the farm with only his wife and son.
Mehring went to the Legislature on March 18 to testify on behalf of SB233, which would provide about $800,000 in state funding over two years for the Home Feeds Nevada program — a fraction of its prior federal funding level with LFAS. On top of that, he wants to start a nonprofit to recreate the program independently to provide direct funding to farms to grow crops for food banks.
But the Trump administration is cutting needed funds that will hurt farms like his in rural communities, Mehring said.
“The large corporations, they don’t need this program,” Mehring said. “But small and midsize farms [and] family farms need these programs to help bring security.”
On the food bank side, Three Square CEO Beth Martino said that the USDA cuts will have a “serious impact” on Nevadans who rely on the food bank, particularly with inflation already driving grocery costs higher.
“Cuts to federal government commodities mean less food coming into Three Square and fewer meals reaching our community,” Martino said in a statement.
Martino said the food bank is committed to sustaining its mission, but will need to identify new funding sources now that LFPA has been cut.
Congressional Democrats are also trying to get answers. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) signed onto a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on March 14 asking her to reverse the cancellation and asking if the department has assessed what its impact will be on producers and recipient organizations.
But short of a legal order, a change of heart from the Trump administration or a significant investment from the state or private donors, the food purchase programs will be unfunded.
