Durham, North Carolina - At Riverside High School in Durham, North Carolina, the food is fresh because most of it comes from local growers.
“We’ll receive local chopped carrots, cucumbers and lettuce because we think we need to support people in our community,” Jim Keaten, who runs nutrition programs for Durham Public Schools, told CBS News.
Keaton said the district’s produce comes from local growers under the USDA program cut by the Trump administration.
"Immediately, my thoughts are, what are we going to do?" Keaten said, his first response when he learned that the program's funds were cut. “Because these are the funds we use to provide local food to the kids.”
March, the White House Cut two federal plans This provides more than $1 billion in annual funding for school districts and food banks nationwide. It cut $660 million in funding to local school food programs, There is another $420 million Cooperation agreement for local food purchases, Go to the Food Bank and other local groups.
The impact was felt in every state, including North Carolina, and CBS News follows food and funding to assess the impact of the cuts. One of the growers who provide food to the school is Songkee Farm in Hurdle Mills, about an hour’s drive from Riverside High School.
Linda Leach-Hughes, co-owner of the farm, said last year that it sold $150,000 in produce to local schools. She called the sudden loss of income “destructive.”
"If we don't have the extra income to help locals in the community, we will have to lay off employees and we will no longer hire people," Leach-Hughes told CBS News.
Pine Farm also provides produce to food libraries in central and eastern North Carolina. Food Bank president and CEO Amy Beros said the cut share of lost aid is now about $2 million.
"I don't understand," Bellos said. "We have faced one of the worst hunger crises for decades and now we will increase demand. The opportunity to get this food prevents them from choosing between life-saving medicines and foods they need for that month."
Those who grew up felt particularly the attention to who was fed.
"If you were to take food out of food from babies, seniors, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, how would you make America great again?" Leah Hoth asked. “How will you make America great again?”