Federal Funding Freeze Jeopardizes Small Farms, Prevents Millions of lbs of Local Food from Reaching Families in Need
ACTION ALERT:
CALL CONGRESS TODAY!
Without warning or explanation, the federal government has frozen funding for Farms Together, a vital California-based program that connects small and mid-scale farmers with families in need of fresh, nutritious food. This sudden funding halt has created widespread uncertainty, economic hardship for farmers, and disrupted food assistance for thousands of households across the state.
Please take just a minute today and call your US Senator and Representative, urging them push back against the freeze and reinstate this vital program.
CALL-IN SCRIPT:
“Hello, my name is _______, and I am a _______ from _______. I’m calling to urge [your Senator/Representative’s Name] to immediately address the funding freeze to USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) which directly impacts farming families and rural communities. On February 28th, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) informed program operators that California’s LFPA program is on pause – effectively freezing this vital program. This decision has left [us; include specifics about your role as a farmer/org/or constituent – e.g. without a market for my produce/impact on local economy or loss of local fresh produce]. You must demand this unlawful funding freeze to end and resume support for critical programs. Will you take action to address this issue?”
ABOUT THE PROGRAM & FUNDING FREEZE:
Farms Together was developed by the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB), Fresh Approach (FA), and Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) with original support from the California Department of Social Services and the California Department of Food & Agriculture via the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program. The program strengthens California’s local food system, enhancing supply chain resiliency by expanding economic opportunities for smaller-scale producers while providing locally-grown products to food banks and community distribution networks. Through a collaborative approach, Farms Together enables food hubs and aggregation partners to purchase fresh produce directly from farmers, assembling farm boxes and bulk food pallets for delivery to food banks and community sites.
California today produces nearly half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. And yet more than 1 in 5 Californians—about 8.8 million people—still struggle with food insecurity.
In the last year, Farms Together has achieved the following:
- 533 California based farms supported
- $20,724,336 in California fruits and vegetables purchased
- 35 participating food hubs
- 55 food banks and community food distribution partners
- 8,757,962 lbs of fruits & vegetables / 575,676 farm boxes distributed through food hubs
Despite these successes, substantial funding remains to continue this critical work and fulfill agreements already made to all parties.
For many small farms, Farms Together is more than a sales channel—it’s an opportunity to grow and succeed as a small business? The program’s ability to connect farmers with emergent marketplaces has been instrumental in fostering local economic growth in rural communities while also addressing food insecurity. Withholding this federal support, will leave farmers without markets and struggle to recover from lost income while food banks face supply shortages of these local products.
Advocates, farmers, and food security organizations are urging lawmakers to intervene and restore funding before the damage becomes irreversible. Farms Together remains committed to its mission but needs immediate government action to continue serving California’s communities.