The U.S. Agriculture Department is ending two pandemic-era programs that provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farmers and producers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut more than $1 billion in federal programs that gave schools and food banks funding to purchase food from local farms and ranchers ― a move that school lunch advocates say will take away free meals from millions of children whose parents are grappling with rising grocery prices.