HELENA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut more than $1 billion in funding meant to help schools and food pantries buy from local producers. Politico and the School Nutrition Association, a national non-profit, first reported the cuts. The change will impact how Helena Food Share buys food from Montana producers.

The cuts include $660 million in cuts to the Local Food for Schools Program and $500 million from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program(LFPA), which supports food pantries.

The Helena Food Share received $200,000 in grant funding through LFPA, which ran from 2022 and was set to expire this May.

The organization used the money to buy locally produced foods to support programs, including its grocery share, kids’ pack, and emergency food pack programs, before the announcement that the LFPA’s funding would be slashed.

“We truly believe that access to food is a basic human right, and that these programs help us really be able to fulfill that value that we have here at Helena Food Share. Our mission is really to create a hunger-free community, and we have lots of values around that, and access to food is critical,” said Kim Dale, Program Director at Helena Food Share.

Food Share officials told MTN that the loss of this funding program will affect the amount of food they can source locally.

Helena Food Share Development Director Tim Joyce said, “By losing access to those federal dollars through the LFPA program, that just means we won't have the capacity to purchase as much fresh food and products from local Montana producers that we were in the past,”

Helena Food Share said it will continue to rely on the community which donated 64% of food the organization distributed in 2024.