MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama State Board of Agriculture and Industries leaders are optimistic about its recent $22.1 million budget request for fiscal 2026, a $560,000 increase over its 2025 budget largely to expand ongoing food programs.
“It’s almost all food related,” Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate told Alabama Daily News recently about the proposed $560,000 increase. “I do (think lawmakers will accept our request), they know we don’t go up there and ask for silly stuff.”
The budget request asks for a $510,000 increase for its appropriations from the state’s General Fund, for a total of $21.5 million, and a $50,000 increase for its appropriations from the state’s Education Trust Fund, for a total of $600,000.
The department is asking for $500,000 to fund the Hunger Solutions Institute at Auburn University’s Double Up Food Bucks program, which provides increased purchasing power for low-income Alabamians participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.
Under the program, Alabamians participating in SNAP who purchase fresh fruits or vegetables will receive an equal amount back in retailer-specific coupons or tokens to be redeemed for fresh fruits or vegetables, effectively doubling their purchasing power.
The $50,000 increase in the department’s request from the ETF was for the state’s Farm to School program, an initiative that began in 2021 that offers a $0.20 reimbursement per meal to schools that serve meals containing an Alabama-grown product.
The program has proven successful, with 49 schools participating in fiscal year 2024, which ended Oct. 31, purchasing products from 33 different Alabama farmers. In total, nearly 1.3 million meals were served with locally grown products that fiscal year due to the program.
The Farm to School program has been subsidized by the federal government’s Local Food for Schools program since its inception, but with that program ending in early 2025, department leaders are hoping state lawmakers will pick up the tab to see it continue.
In recent months, state lawmakers have warned of declining revenue in the coming years, in large part due to federal dollars drying up and other market factors. A $283 million budget shortfall projected by the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan is another major concern for lawmakers, something that will likely weigh on lawmakers’ minds as they craft the 2025 budget.
During a recent meeting, however, Pate reiterated his confidence that lawmakers would likely be agreeable to the budget requests.
“I thought it was well received by budget people and (Alabama Finance Director) Bill Poole,” Pate said, having met with Poole last week. “We’re probably positioned okay, we’ve been pretty dog gone good stewards of the money we’ve gotten. We’re in good shape.”
The Alabama Legislature is set to meet for the 2025 session starting Feb. 4.