The Donald Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)" campaign is making it even harder for financially strapped U.S. public schools to operate their meal programs.
On the 2nd (local time), according to a survey by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) of more than 1,170 school nutrition officials, 69.6% of respondents this year said subsidies were insufficient to cover meal expense. That is up from 67.4% a year earlier. More than half of respondents said they had "serious concerns" about the financial sustainability of school meal programs over the next three years.
According to U.S. business magazine Fortune, the Trump administration, in pushing the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)," a package of core agenda items for its second term, made deep cuts to the budget for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a food aid program for low-income households. SNAP, commonly known as "food stamps," supports the diets of low-income households, and as the budget shrank, eligibility for free school meals linked to SNAP for some children was reduced as well.
The SNAP budget cuts also affected school meal operations. As the number of eligible children fell, the subsidies schools receive naturally declined.
The problem has deepened as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has actively pursued improving the quality of school meals. HHS is requiring schools to cut ultra-processed foods and increase whole foods, fruits and vegetables, and protein, and to continue receiving federal support, schools must follow MAHA's dietary guidelines.
On top of that, inflation is sharply driving up food ingredient expense. For example, the MAHA guidelines recommend increased consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy, but with a decline in cattle herd size, beef prices are rising. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of cattle and calves in the United States is 86.2 million, the lowest in 75 years.
David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University, said, "There are practical operational constraints on whether this can be implemented at current funding levels," noting, "Staffing shortages, culinary training, and equipment and infrastructure are all operational issues that require financial solutions."
In schools, voices say meal operations had already reached their limits even before the guidelines changed. Supply chain disruptions from geopolitical conflicts such as COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and wage increases due to a tight labor market in agriculture and food production have combined to produce this result.
Schools are calling for additional budget support. At a congressional briefing on the 2nd, SNA President Stephanie Dillard emphasized that more financial support is needed to meet the new guidelines. Dillard said, "With $4.70, we have to cover not only ingredients but also consumables, labor, equipment, delivery, and utilities," adding, "In the past, for a St. Patrick's Day menu, we once made shepherd's pie from scratch using fresh, locally sourced beef, but because local beef is about $3 more per pound, it's hard to offer it regularly."