“Chaos and panic” as US slashes funds for small farmers and food assistance

Farmers and food assistance groups around the country were reeling this week amid a series of moves by the Trump administration to cut funding for programs that support small and disadvantaged farmers and provide food for low-income families.

The loss of funding, which totals more than $1 billion, was sending shock waves through a system set up to provide reliable markets and consistent income for farmers who supply healthy, unprocessed, locally grown fruits and vegetables and other foods to hunger assistance organizations and public schools.

Funding was spread through every US state but some of the largest amounts of program money were earmarked for farmers in California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Georgia.

“This is a huge deal for small farmers,” said Ellee Igoe, co-owner of Solidarity Farm in southern California and director of operations for Foodshed, a San Diego County network of regenerative and organic farms supplying food to families in need. “We’re growing healthy food and providing it to local communities. And they are cancelling contracts without real reason. Out here, it feels like it is very politically motivated.”

Igoe said she and others believe the cuts are related in part to President Donald Trump’s decision to eliminate programs that carry “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) objectives because when applying for program funding under the Biden administration, applicants were asked to list how the funding would help minority/disadvantaged farmers.

Many of the farmers and families who benefit are disadvantaged and people of color, including Native American populations living on Tribal lands. Some of the programs help provide culturally specific crops for various communities, such as specific types of corn for Latino families or specific squash varieties for Asian communities.

“Chaos and panic”

The government announcements of funding cuts have been inconsistent, with the announcement of a freeze on one tranche of federal funding reversed within days, only to be followed by a termination notice for another tranche of federal funding.

A termination notice from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) delivered to California’s Department of Social Services on March 7, for instance, gave the state a 60 day-notice that previously approved funding pledged for 2025-2026 was being eliminated. The same notice, however, told the state agency that funding that had recently been frozen for current obligations would be resumed.

It has been “chaos and panic” for farmers, said Matthew Martin, a farmer in northern California who grows carrots, broccoli, cabbage and other produce and leads a small, local food network that supplies 70 families in the area with fresh food. Now farmers are left uncertain if they can even count on continuing funds for the next few months, despite the government decision to unfreeze current funding. The removal of long-term funding could push many small farmers out of business, he said.

“That is the most difficult thing right now, the uncertainty,” said Martin.

One of the key programs slashed is the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program (LFPA), and the funding cuts include the “LFPA 25” tranche, budgeted at  $421.5 million.

Another impacted program is the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program (LFS), which is similarly in turmoil after the USDA said it was canceling more than $600 million that was allocated under the Biden administration to help schools and child care facilities obtain locally supplied foods from farmers in their communities.

When asked about the cuts, the USDA said that the LFPA and LFS “will now be sunsetted … marking a return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.”

Overall, the USDA said that going forward it is “prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact.” Citing 16 “robust nutrition programs in place,” the USDA said it “remains focused on its core mission: strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious food.”

Other funding under review 

Funding for other related programs are under review now, to make sure they “align with the Department’s goals and priorities,” including the Local Food Promotion Program, which supports local and regional food businesses that process and distribute locally grown foods, the USDA said.  Another, which incentivizes farmers to make climate-friendly changes to their practices, is also in jeopardy.  

The USDA said it recognizes that “farmers and ranchers and other grant-funded entities that serve them,” have made decisions reliant on the funding, and are awaiting payments. Determinations about the funding will be made “as quickly as possible,” the USDA said.

“There is a high degree of uncertainty for nearly anyone who receives federal money,” said Paul Towers, who leads the Community Alliance with Family Farmers that represents 8,000 small- and mid-sized farmers in California committed to sustainable agriculture. “We will continue to lose more farms in California at a time when food banks are seeing increased numbers of hungry families and at a time when rural communities are struggling financially.”

(Featured photo from Foodshed Small Farm Cooperative.)