.png)
Federal Funding Freezes Hurt Real American Farmers and Children
- Bob Benenson
- Mar 23
- 4 min read
Please Watch This Video of North Carolina Family Farmers Speaking Out
Take a look at the photo above. It's a screenshot of a Facebook reel posted by farmer Jamie Ager and his high school senior son (and 5th generation farmer) Nolin.
Their Hickory Nut Gap farm in western North Carolina, a regenerative producer of pasture-raised livestock, is one of many across the United States that have been rocked by the Trump administration's abrupt and counter-productive termination of the federal Local Food for Schools and Child Care program.
This decision eliminates the disbursement of $660 million over three years to school systems to pay farmers to provide healthy food, produced locally, sustainably and humanely, to be served to schoolchildren. While $660 million (or $220 million a year) may sound like a lot to us average folks, it doesn't even amount to a rounding error in the $2 trillion that this administration says it plans to cut in the name of "government efficiency."
The cuts and funding freezes implemented by Trump's USDA are attacking programs that provide significant benefits and values.
Along with the termination of the farm-to-school program, farmers are being harmed by the freeze on contractual reimbursements under the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) cooperative agreement, under which small farmers receive market prices for food to be distributed for free to the needy. Several conservation programs were created to help farmers improve soil health, reduce polluted runoff into the nation's waterways, and address the potentially devastating impacts of global climate change.
There is nothing I have seen that at all indicates that these programs were carefully examined and audited on their merits, or that any effort has been made to reach out to farmers and other stakeholders who are suffering major losses as a result of these actions.
This leaves me no option but to see that these actions are all about political retribution, since these programs were created by the preceding Biden administration.
I quit my previous career as a political journalist 14 years ago and re-engage reluctantly, but I have no choice when so many good people are being victimized for doing good things. Believe me, I know how political echo chambers work, and many people are being bamboozled that the programs being cut are some crazy hippie shit.
Please take a look at the Ager family members above and tell me if they look like crazy hippies, or better yet, view the short but powerful reel that they posted.
Here is how the farm is described on the Hickory Nut Gap farm website, which shows that the principles that the family follows are hardly a product of the previous four years:
Hickory Nut Gap was a through-road for drovers taking their animals to the markets in the Appalachian foothills at the turn of the 18th century. Our family history began on this land in 1916 when Jim and Elizabeth McClure settled here after their honeymoon. 105 years later, we continue to be stewards of the land nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Continental Divide in Buncombe County.
Today, led by Jamie Ager and his wife Amy, Hickory Nut Gap is a leader in 100% grassfed beef and pasture raised pork production in the Southeast. Along with partner farms, Hickory Nut Gap is spearheading the regenerative agriculture movement, using pasture-based farming to rebuild farmland, sequester carbon as organic matter in soil, and work to reverse climate change.
The National Farm to School Network has put out an action alert about the termination. Here is the lead paragraph followed by action items that the non-profit organization asks you to take. Then click the link below for the full release with background about the program.
The United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service has officially terminated the second round of the Local Food for Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) program as well as its sibling Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program.
LFSCC was set to provide state agencies with $660 million for schools and child care sites to purchase local food over the next three years. National Farm to School Network aims to shed light on the disastrous impact this decision will have for each state's farmers and ranchers, and the child nutrition programs working every day to nourish kids. This is a devastating loss for our community and farmers across the US. Right now we need every voice to speak out to push back against this decision.
Take Action Today
1. Contact Your Elected and Local Officials:
Visit NFSN’s Action Alert here to easily contact your federal legislators to raise the alarm (including talking points to easily craft your message!)
Raise your concerns to state officials, particularly your state Departments of Agriculture and Agriculture Commissioners, to urge them to fight for these programs. Not sure who to contact? Reach out to the NFSN Policy Team for help (Karen@farmtoschool.org).
2. Share Your Story: Use our Impact Form to let us know how this will affect your community. If you can speak on record to the press about these impacts, we are eager to connect with you as well.
3. Spread the Word: The effects of this program cut will be felt by farmers and ranchers, food hubs and distributors, schools and child care providers, and families. We want to help amplify stories, particularly from producers, that can illustrate this for policymakers and the press. Please share this information with your networks to help inform and mobilize.
Please stand up for our nation's small farmers.
Comentarios