School Meals Budget Watch: President’s Budget Proposes Cuts!!
Driving the news: The Trump administration released its detailed FY2026 budget request, proposing $23.0 billion for USDA, nearly $6.7 billion less than current levels. The budget follows the earlier “skinny budget” which called for 22.6% cuts to nondefense discretionary spending.
Under this proposal:
- Child nutrition discretionary funding drops from $34 million to $18 million, eliminating funding for school meal equipment grants, Farm to School discretionary grants, and the Institute of Child Nutrition
- The $500 million MAHA initiative remains in the proposal for Health and Human Services to address “nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication… and food and drug quality and safety.”
What this means for school meals: While the majority of school meal funding is mandatory and based on student participation, the 47% cut to discretionary child nutrition programs would significantly impact critical supports.
What’s next: The President’s budget serves as a starting point for Congressional appropriations decisions.
- The House Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee will mark up its spending bill Thursday morning using the President’s proposal as a baseline.
- The full House Appropriations committee will then consider the bill on June 11.
- The Senate will develop its own version, and the two chambers will reconcile any differences before sending final legislation to the President.
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