FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Congressman Jim Costa held a virtual press conference Monday along with other local leaders to discuss recent cuts to federal food programs and how the cuts will affect local school districts and food banks. "It's about children who are food insecure in our schools, " said Costa. "Not only here in the San Joaquin Valley, but throughout the country." Costa talked about the negative effects that cuts to programs like the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) as well as the Local Food for School Cooperative Agreement (LFS) will have. "These two programs are really intended to create local partnerships between school districts and local farmers to be able to purchase highly nutritious foods for the schools to improve their ability to teach kids," he said. The cuts are part of the Trump Administration's efforts to reduce federal spending. Fresno Unified received nearly $500,000 during the 2022-2023 school year to be able to buy locally grown products. "With the nearly $500,000 that we received from Fresno Unified, we invested in high quality, locally sourced food that included fresh produce, organic chicken and turkey, and other nutritious ingredients," said Nikki Henry, Chief Communications Officer for the Fresno Unified School District. Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michele Copher said larger districts throughout the county could absorb some of these costs but they fear their smaller districts will suffer. "We are particularly interested in and concerned about the smaller rural school districts that struggle with a limited food supply chain, they have to rely very heavily on federal support," said Copher. The cuts won't just affect the school districts but also the Central California Food Bank. The food bank distributed 60 million pounds of food to people across this region. ...read more read less