The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut millions of dollars in funding that Alabama schools used to buy fresh produce from local farms, according to the state department of education.

About $16 million for local produce such as apples, watermelon, corn and satsumas will no longer be available, state Department of Education Superintendent Eric Mackey said Wednesday.

“It will be hard to replicate the program without federal funds because it’s a pretty expensive program,” Mackey said. There’s currently no state funding for this program, and he said it carries a high ticket price.

More than 40 states have participated in the Local Food for Schools Purchase Assistance or Cooperative programs in previous years, according to news reports. The program began during the pandemic.

The USDA has halted more than $1 billion nationwide in funding for food from local farms and ranchers, according to Politico.

Most school lunch food comes from food service companies, like those that restaurants use. Students will still get school lunches, but specific options may change.

Mackey said Alabama is one of the leading states with “farm-to-table or farm-to-school” collaborations.

He said he hopes to work with the agriculture commission to find a workaround.

Alabama worked with the Deep South Food Alliance, New North Florida Cooperative, Durbin Farms and other small farmers and school produce distributors to obtain fresh produce, according to the USDA.

School nutrition directors also are bracing for potential rollbacks to programs that expanded funding for school meals, The Associated Press reports.