Volunteers pack boxes of local fresh food as part of the Wisconsin Farmers Union Tribal Elder Food Box (TEFB) Program. Started in 2021, the program aims to increase access to nutritious, culturally meaningful foods for tribal members over 55 years old. The program received support from the state Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Farmers Union)
In another blow to farmers and rural communities, on March 7 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) abruptly froze more than $1 billion in funds for programs that gave schools and food banks money to buy food from local farms.
The move left farmers scrambling upon hearing news of the pulled contracts. Information trickled down to states and farmers in a disorganized manner. Some farmers heard they had 60 days left on their contracts, while others heard they wouldn’t receive reimbursements for any purchases made after January 19. Others had produce ready to be delivered to food banks when they received news that the food banks would not be able to pay for the shipments, a situation remarkably similar to last month when the Trump administration paused funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and nearly $500 million in food and supplies destined for countries in need were left in limbo in storage facilities across the country.
Volunteers pack boxes of local fresh food as part of the Wisconsin Farmers Union Tribal Elder Food Box (TEFB) Program. Started in 2021, the program aims to increase access to nutritious, culturally meaningful foods for tribal members over 55 years old. The program received support from the state Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. (Courtesy of Wisconsin Farmers Union)
An estimated $660 million for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), which has supported schools and child care facilities in all 50 states, and $420 million for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA), which supports food banks and other food assistance organizations, has been canceled.
The programs were established in 2021 through the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that helped reboot the American economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. They were intended to be one-time programs to strengthen local supply chains, but the popularity of the two programs led to a new round of funding last fall through the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation, a New Deal-era fund used to purchase agriculture commodities. The funding was announced last October via a press release.
The freeze impacts not only farmers and local organizations, but also tribal nations and U.S. territories.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the USDA told the New York Times that the agency’s decision to terminate the programs marked a “return to long-term fiscally responsible initiatives” and that “the Covid era is over.”
A shred of irony exists in between the lines. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly espoused the importance of a healthy diet for all Americans. Axing these programs appears to counter his supposed work to Make America Healthy Again, as the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, seem to know no bounds to slashing government spending. The LFPA and LFS programs delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to underserved populations across the country, including schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs as well as child care facilities participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Thomas Eich, who runs Kankakee Valley Homestead in Walkerton, Indiana, was notified on Wednesday that his contracts with both the LFS and LFPA programs had been cancelled. Eich had already made purchases for the 2025 season based on his contracts for the program, putting him in a bind with $10,000 worth of seeds, fertilizer and other supplies that he’s already purchased. He made his farmers’ market schedule based on his participation in the programs, which last year accounted for nearly $15,000, or about 15% of his farm’s revenue.
Thomas Eich is a fifth-generation farmer who runs Kankakee Valley Homestead near Walkerton, Indiana. Eich says the termination of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program is an “attack against the food security of the most vulnerable age groups in our society.” (Miles MacClure, Barn Raiser)
Eich had high hopes for the 2025 season. He already signed contracts for $12,755, and was in talks to secure up to $78,000 between the two programs. Eich specifically made investments to scale up potato production at the request of local schools. Some of his crops are already planted, and he’s stuck with potatoes in a quantity that he might not be able to move in venues like farmers’ markets.
“Not only is the result lost revenue but we also lost the money on inputs that are now greatly in excess of what we need for just the farmers’ markets, putting me in a stressful financial situation,” Eich tells Barn Raiser via email.
Eich—who was an elementary school teacher before turning to farming—was a proud participant in the LFS program. He says it gave him a chance to be connected to local schools and contribute to the community, even if he no longer worked in the classroom. Eich says, “Cutting these programs is going to cause measurable financial difficulty for myself and all associated small farmers, but more importantly the cuts are an attack against the food security of the most vulnerable age groups in our society.”
Nearly one in five children in America live in households without consistent access to adequate food. School meals often play a critical role in providing food to students from low-income families, and free or reduced school meal programs have been shown to increase students’ achievement and attendance while supporting long-term academic potential. A 2024 survey from the School Nutrition Association found that virtually every school surveyed (98%) reported financial challenges related to food costs, while 94% reported challenges related to labor costs. A 2023 survey by the USDA found that 61% of schools participating in “farm to school” programs reported an increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables in school meals and 57% said they had access to better quality foods.
In addition to the LFS and LFPA freeze, the USDA is considering cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Other changes to SNAP could include a ban on using the funds to purchase soft drinks, although data is inconclusive on whether such a ban would compel consumers to choose healthier alternatives.
Thomas Eich holds a selection of corn grown on his farm. (Miles MacClure, Barn Raiser)
Funding opportunities available to farmers from the USDA are often limited to farmers who grow commodity crops like corn, soy and wheat. The LFPA and LFS programs offered funding opportunities to small scale fruit and vegetable producers who otherwise wouldn’t be eligible for programs like crop insurance via the USDA. Without the programs, small farmers will lose critical markets while schools, food banks and other food assistance organizations may struggle to afford local food.
On March 11, the Illinois House Agriculture Committee held a hearing with testimonies from farmers impacted by the freeze. During the hearing, State Rep. Sonya Harper (D-06), Chair of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, noted that several organizations and individual farmers elected to not speak at the hearing due to fears of retaliation from the federal government.
Several farmers testified to the positive impact of the program, including Benjamin Stumpf, a 33-year-old farmer who runs Rumblin’ Ernie Farm in Columbia, Illinois. He gave an impassioned testimony of the benefits of the LFPA program. Stumpf testified that, prior to him enrolling in the program, he had to work a second job at UPS to keep his family afloat while starting his farm. Before LFPA, he woke up at 3 a.m. to work a shift at UPS before working a full day on the farm. The LFPA funding provided a stable income that allowed him to quit his second job.
Stumpf runs a one man show, he says participating in LFPA helped him to focus on farming while the program handled logistics of produce distribution, allowing him to spend more time with his wife and 1 year-old son. “The thought of picking up a second job is hard to stomach, but it’s something I have to consider again especially this winter when farmers’ markets close,” he says.
“In order to get a business off the ground and start seeing profits and raise our production, these funds really help us,” said Anna Morrell, a farmer and President of the Central Illinois chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition. Morrell testified at the Illinois House Agriculture hearing on behalf of the coalition, saying the uncertainty behind the programs was incredibly damaging to farmers.
Ryan Sullivan of Sullivan Family Farm in Wisconsin, participated in the LFPA in 2023 and 2024. In those years, Sullivan won a contract to distribute fresh produce and frozen meat to a local food pantry in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
The produce donated to food pantries isn’t necessarily the cream of the crop, with donations often at the tail end of their shelf life. Not so with the LFPA produce, says Sullivan. “As our vegetables were delivered in, they would usually receive it within 24 hours of the time that we harvested it.”
Sullivan was looking forward to participating in LFPA again in 2025, and added that the Wisconsin program had developed smooth logistical operations over the past two years. He says about 25% of his revenue came from the LFPA program.
“It was going really well in the state of Wisconsin,” says Sullivan. “The numbers tell a very convincing and a very positive story. We were meeting the intent of what the LFPA program was with really, really great success.”
