Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will cut two pandemic era programs that provide more than $26 million in funding for new Jersey schools and food banks to buy food directly from local farms and producers.

It's part of what the agency says is a, quote, return to long term, fiscally responsible initiatives.

But advocates and other experts warn the decision could be devastating for children, their families and farmers.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis reports.

This is a super important program to all of us, and we want to make sure that everybody understands that it's not just a cut in funding, it's a loss of value.

That cut in funding was just announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bringing a stop to two food purchasing programs, one called Local Food Purchase Assistance, or LFPA, and the other called Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement.

Both help fund local new Jersey farmers to provide fresh food to schools and food pantries.

You have an opportunity to see what we do.

I think you do understand why this is so important.

We're bringing in broccoli, we're bringing in tomatoes, or we're bringing in beef, pork and chicken all grown locally and cooking from scratch in schools or using them to teach kids, how things are grown.

Sal Valenza works as a food service director in schools across Hudson County.

He's also the policy director for the School Nutrition Association of New Jersey, where his members include school food management companies and food service directors in schools.

The 26 million in total federal funds help them get those fresh foods into school cafeterias for kids who depend on those meals daily.

I serve 4500 meals a day in my schools.

That's a good amount of produced purchase.

So for us, we need to make sure the farmers understand what we need and are able to produce that.

The federal funds help that happen because they help the farmers to be able to afford to sell to us.

In the two years the program's been funded, it's been a huge boon for the farming industry here in the state, says Devin Cornea, head of the Northeast Farming Association of New Jersey.

And some have already made investments counting on those dollars.

It's allowing beginning farmers to to step in and really expand their operation with confidence.

It's allowing existing farmers to either diversify what they're growing in marketing, or to lean in to these markets and supply more food to food banks and food pantries and support their bottom line.

One food pantry in Orange Men, which stands for Meeting Essential Needs with dignity, has used the funding to expand its home meal delivery program, bringing healthy foods twice a week to 220 families in Essex County who can't otherwise get to a food pantry.

It's often grandparents taking care of grandchildren.

Families with young children, people that have, maybe mobility issues or transportation challenges.

And quite honestly, people you know, with young kids, it's hard to load up your family, get on a bus, get to a food pantry.

So folks that really have a hard time accessing fresh and healthy food and really have health and food needs that they need to meet.

There are those who say that we need to cut federal spending, and programs like this have been on the table.

What do you say to those who say, this is an area where we should be cutting?

I say this is a classic example of trying to fix something that isn't broken.

If you're going to invest in something at the government level, it would be investing in the health of our communities and especially our children.

So I would look elsewhere.

Why you would eliminate a program like that?

I don't I'm still trying to get my my head around that.

Felix Donato is family are multigenerational farmers.

He's the head of a cooperative that helps farmers distribute their food to various markets and communities.

He says the program has been a game changer for farmers and the community.

It's basically a two fold program.

You know, it's helping these insecure families get these healthy food choices.

I mean, these healthy food choices, they're going to protect you from infectious disease.

It's going to protect you from chronic disease.

And now you have a program that was doing that.

Plus it was helping our local, you know, agricultural community, which they need help.

A lot of times when it comes to distributing their product.

The current funding for both runs out in October.

The pantries and organizations that depend on it will be funded until then.

Many facing cuts say they'll find a way to feed the hungry even when the funds run out.

But how?

They don't know yet.

In orange I'm Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight News.