Feeding People in Crisis: How Federal Cuts Are Gutting Local Food Programs

The USDA just slashed a billion-dollar program that connected small farmers to food banks. Here’s why that matters—and what we’re losing.

It’s March, which means my little farm, Woodside Acres, is in planning mode. Unlike vegetable farms, our planning is fairly straightforward: order chicks on the right dates, set processing and delivery schedules, and make sure everything lines up so that fresh, pasture-raised poultry reaches the people who need it most.

That’s what fills me with purpose—knowing that 90% of the chicken we produce goes directly to people in crisis.

For the past few years, our farm has proudly participated in the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (LFPA)—a program designed to connect small farmers to food-insecure communities. We’ve been able to raise and distribute nutrient-dense poultry to Prairie Ridge Behavioral Healthcare Drop-In Center in Mason City, which provides crisis counseling, harm reduction supplies, life skills training, and healthcare to those in need.

Their tagline?

“It takes a community to heal a community.”

One time when I made a delivery during COVID, I arrived to find a line of social workers waiting. They were there to take a chicken or two straight to their clients—people who couldn’t make it to the center but still needed support.

This Is Personal.

While LFPA supports a variety of food access programs, this is the one I want to serve.

Because I know addiction. I come from a family with a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. I’ve lost aunts to overdoses, saw my own family torn apart by alcoholism, and, if I’m being honest, struggled myself to put down the bottle.

(I’ve been completely sober for almost two years!)

The idea that our farm—our small, imperfect, ever-growing farm—can play even a tiny role in someone’s recovery is not lost on me.

Food is medicine. Food is dignity. Food is hope.

And Now, This Program has Been Cut

Last week, the USDA announced that LFPA and LFS (similar program, but for school procurement) will be cancelled for 2025 and beyond.

These programs were set to provide over $1 billion nationally—with $11.3 million slated for Iowa alone—over the next three years to keep food banks, schools, and child care centers stocked with locally grown, high-quality food.

Without this funding, small farmers like me lose a critical market. And more importantly, people in crisis lose access to the nutrient-dense food they need.

Unlike my poultry farm, many vegetable farms have already invested in this growing season based on the promise of LFPA funds. They’ve bought seeds, started transplants, mapped out delicate crop rotations, and planned harvest schedules to meet the expected demand from food hubs and food access programs.

Now? That demand might be gone.

What happens when farmers who have already committed resources suddenly lose their market? What happens when food banks that counted on these partnerships no longer have fresh produce to distribute?

We live in one of the most agriculturally productive states in the country. It is unacceptable that our neighbors are going hungry.

It takes a community to heal a community.

I want to keep doing my part. But I need to know that there’s still a system in place to get our food where it needs to go.

This is the time to speak up. If you believe local food should stay local—if you believe food access should be a priority—pay attention. Because if we don’t fight for this now?

Programs like LFPA disappear. Farmers lose markets. And the people who rely on this food? They get left behind.

Why should local farms get government funding? Shouldn’t they survive on their own?

Most of the food we eat is already subsidized, believe it or not. But local food isn’t. The vast majority of subsidies go to the mega-rich large-scale commodity farmers. Programs like this level the playing field and have the added bonus of nourishing the bodies of EVERYONE.

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If you care about keeping local food in local communities, follow the Iowa Food System Coalition and their new Substack page. We’re working to ensure that programs like this continue, that farmers have strong markets, and that food-insecure Iowans have access to fresh, nutrient-dense food.