Market Uncertainty Follows Federal Program Expiration
Small-scale and tribal farmers are bracing for a period of instability following the March 2025 termination of two key U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiatives: the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) programs. The agency shuttered the programs, which provided more than $1 billion for schools and food banks, stating the initiatives no longer aligned with the agency’s goals.
Loss of a Vital Supply Chain Lifeline
The programs were designed to help states and tribes purchase local food from nearby farmers for food banks and schools. For many, the loss is acute. Carly Griffith Hotvedt, executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative and a member of Cherokee Nation, noted that these funds allowed tribes to source culturally-significant foods—such as bison meat, certain types of berries, and wild rice—that were included as part of a food box distribution.
For producers like Dawn and Cassius Spears of Ashawaug Farm in Rhode Island, the programs provided a reliable market for their Narragansett heritage crops.
Legislative Efforts to Codify Support
As the programs expire, the focus shifts to the upcoming Farm Bill. U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, and Sen. Jim Justice, a West Virginia Republican, have introduced a bill they say takes the best from the two programs and creates a permanent grant program. The proposal seeks to authorize state and tribal governments to purchase local food for schools and hunger relief, while mandating that 10% of the program’s funding be set aside for tribes. It also calls for cooperative agreements connecting local farmers and producers with local food distribution organizations.
The Funding Conflict
While the House passed its version of the bill in April and a Senate committee released a draft in late June, the legislative path forward remains under consideration. Hannah Quigley, a policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, argues that for a new program to succeed, Congress must include mandatory funding in order to help farmers better plan, purchase supplies, and hire staff. Sen. Reed has stated he is advocating for mandatory funding in the Senate because without it very little is funded these days, and because farms are under so much pressure economically.
Preserving Indigenous Food Sovereignty
For producers like the Spears, federal agricultural programs serve as tools for preserving food sovereignty and land access. Dawn and Cassius Spears would like to see Indigenous producers prioritized when tribal entities purchase food, and they think having dedicated programs that Indigenous producers can access outside of their tribal government would help more Indigenous producers.
The impact extends beyond the balance sheet. As Dawn Spears noted, the ability to cultivate and preserve heritage crops is tied to the protection of land and the ability to pass those practices down to future generations. Federal funding programs can also help with securing access to land, she said.
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