We’ve been disappointed by the USDA’s recent $1 billion cuts to local food programs. These cuts run counter to the USDA’s mission, and will hurt farms, farmers, and eaters across the country. We penned this letter to USDA Secretary Rollins to express how critical these programs are to the strength, health, and resilience of our food system.

March 28, 2025

Ms. Brooke Rollins
Secretary
USDA
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20250 

Dear Secretary Rollins,

We were disappointed to learn about the USDA’s recent decision to rescind more than $1 billion in federal support that helped schools and food banks procure food from local farms (the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program). We fear that the loss of this funding will put many small and mid-sized agriculture enterprises at great risk, something we know is counter to the USDA’s mission.

For more than 20 years, KK&P has developed and executed local procurement strategies for schools and other institutions across the country. We have seen first-hand how these programs—which began as scrappy grass-roots efforts where small farmers delivered cases of vegetables to the back doors of school kitchens—have grown to engage thousands of family farms of all sizes across the country, spearhead growth for regional manufacturers and distributors, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth across the food and agriculture sectors.

These efforts were originally funded by forward thinking philanthropic organizations, who hoped their investments would pay off in terms of proving the durability and financial sustainability of these programs, many of which insisted that local foods purchased by schools cost the same or less than what was paid to traditional suppliers. KK&P was able to prove that durability, potential and viability at scale in New York City schools, which produce nearly a million meals per day from approximately 1,500 kitchens across the five boroughs.

In collaboration with a strong network of partners, our efforts contributed to the 2008 dismantling of an arcane federal interstate commerce rule prohibiting institutions from stating geographic preference in their food specifications. That, in turn, helped fuel the growth of the National Farm to School Network, set precedent for Food Corps’ procurement efforts, set the stage for the creation and expansion of the Good Food Purchasing Program, all which gained the support of bipartisan policy-makers across the country who now understand the power that billions of dollars of public food purchases has to improve the health and lives of farmers and communities everywhere.

When federal investment in institutional local food procurement began, it magnified the scope, scale, and impact of early investments by states and industry, as well as grassroots and philanthropic efforts. One 2023 report codified the positive net economic impacts of local food purchasing programs, saying that they “not only benefit the directly affected industries but also enhance transactions with other local industries, thereby supporting the expansion of direct activities. This interconnectedness is crucial for sustaining policies that aim to achieve multiple objectives, such as rural development and food security.”

Put more simply, federal support of local food purchasing programs has exponentially helped rebuild family farms, spearheaded new regional agriculture infrastructure, created good jobs, and delivered fresh, healthy food to people with few other options for such foods.

Natural disasters, economic downturns, and other crises can disrupt food transportation and availability. When institutions diversify the sources of their food, such as by incorporating more regional and local foods, they contribute significantly to becoming more resilient and ensuring food security. Local farmers of all products and operational scales can also provide a more reliable and stable source of food, helping to safeguard communities against food shortages and price volatility (see here).

KK&P welcomes opportunities to support the USDA’s leadership to understand why local food purchasing programs—and specifically federal investment in those programs— matters to the US farm economy and how reinstating this funding can position USDA to continue its work to transform the food system to one that is more, adaptable, resilient, healthy, and delicious.

Sincerely yours,

Karen Karp
Founder & Partner, KK&P

Shayna Cohen
Managing Partner, KK&P

Ben Kerrick
Managing Partner, KK&P