Manuel Lujan: “There are food deserts everywhere, but we can do something about that. We have programs in place that recognize the…”

“There are food deserts everywhere, but we can do something about that. We have programs in place that recognize the importance of getting someone a meal who needs that meal, supporting our farmers out there to sow those seeds, to help them with their planting. But what I am seeing right now, Senator Booker, is our farmers have been on the receiving end of these Federal funds being taken away from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, these reckless tariffs that are hurting farmers and ranchers just as much as they are hurting anyone in America. Outbreaks, bird flu--people know what the cost of eggs is in the store right now. Then they look into what is going on now. There is this bird flu that is going around. My constituents ask: Well, why does the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Donald Trump fire the people, epidemiologists, that are responsible for containing this thing? It just doesn't make any sense to folks. I was in the Ag Committee earlier today, Senator Booker, and I was asking some questions to USDA, and I learned that on March 7, 2025, under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture terminated the local food in schools program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement. And then they went further, and they also notified grant applicants on March 24 that the fiscal year 2025 competition for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program is canceled. Why does this matter to farmers and ranchers and people back home?…”