Small and new farmers brace for impact of abrupt federal cuts to USDA programs that provide food to Iowa school children and pantries

Local produce farmers and others are scrambling to find new buyers for their products after the Trump administration abruptly canceled programs that provided food to school children and food pantries.

That includes about 50,000 pounds of apples from Buffalo Ridge Orchard near Central City.

The programs were created by the Biden administration as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic and the flaws it exposed in the nation's food supply chains.

They were meant to bolster the availability of locally grown foods and the number of farmers growing them.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in October it would extend the programs for three more years and would provide about $11 million for Iowa.

But the department — under new leadership — terminated those agreements with participating states this week, including Iowa. President Donald Trump has sought vast cuts to federal spending.

Local farmers who sold into the recently cut programs had anticipated contributing their products at an even higher rate this year as schools have grown more adept at adding them to their menus, and some farmers had already bought seed and equipment to meet that demand.

The growing season draws near.

"This is kind of the worst timing for this to happen," said Mari Hunt Wassink, a beginning Cedar Rapids vegetable farmer. "Now it's time to begin the season, and all of a sudden we don't know what's going to happen."

Hunt Wassink's problems are compounded because she was planning to greatly expand her relatively new Black Earth Gardens, which specializes in produce for culturally Black and African diaspora cuisine, such as okra and uncommon peppers.

She is nearing the end of her time with a Feed Iowa First program that has provided a half acre of land to build her business. She had planned to buy up to 20 acres this fall, but she needs to show strong profits to increase her chances of getting a loan for the land, she said.

Hunt Wassink fears her sales will regress this year.

"It's definitely a question that keeps me up at night," she said. "The next months are crucial."

A lifeline for local farmers

Some of Iowa's federal funding flows through Field to Family in Iowa City, a not-for-profit food hub that acts as a distributor for more than 70 local producers.

It launched in 2019 — before the federal programs existed — to connect farmers with buyers and to help schools plan their menus to incorporate locally grown foods that might only be available during certain parts of the year.

The food hub's sales have grown from about $60,000 in that first year to about $540,000 last year, said Michelle Kenyon, its executive director.

"We're really proud of that," she said. "We want to continue to pay farmers."

But Kenyon anticipates that those sales might decline by half without the federal programs.

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Field to Family delivered food last year to 44 school districts and 22 food pantries and other organizations that provide food to those who have trouble affording it.

The most popular items for schools were dairy products such as yogurt, and produce such as apples, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, radishes and sweet corn.

"They can tell the difference between a local apple and the ones they get shipped in," Kenyon said.

One school district bought whole watermelons by the crate — despite the labor required to cut them — because they were so popular.

Field to Family had five full-time employees last year but eliminated one of those positions because of the program cuts, Kenyon said.

Where will the food go?

Sean Malone, who operates a year-round greenhouse called Garuda Farms near Tipton, was contemplating a massive expansion but paused that thought because of uncertainty about federal policies, beyond the program cuts.

He estimates that the cuts might reduce his sales by 10 percent. Field to Family opens an important market for Malone's greenhouse during warm months, when more farmers are raising lettuce.

"Their ability to take mass quantities of my lettuce is fundamental to our success in the summer," he said of Field to Family.

The program cuts won't sink his business, Malone said, but he worries about smaller producers and the future of the Iowa City food hub.

"It's just an asinine, unnecessary, mean-spirited cut," he said.

Meantime, near Central City, Emma Johnson is trying to figure out what to do with about 50,000 pounds of apples she intended to sell into the programs this year.

Her family-owned Buffalo Ridge Orchard planted 1,500 trees in recent years — more than a 20 percent increase — to meet the growing demand from schools.

"It's going to be hard not having this program, especially with it being cut so quickly, with no notice," Johnson said. "We could have spent the last six months figuring out our marketing plan. Now we're heading into bloom."

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The program cuts might result in 15 percent less income for the orchard, she said, which might be the difference between making a profit or breaking even for the year.

The Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance programs — and others like them — are "important to our producers and communities," said Don McDowell, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

He said the department will pursue similar initiatives and this week announced a $70,000 pilot program that encourages schools to buy from local producers.

The new program offers up to $1,000 per school building that must be matched with an equal amount of spending by the school district.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District is not among those that received the former federal funding.

The Iowa City Community School District did, and it plans to continue buying from local farmers, said Alison Demory, the district's director of nutrition services.

The district had received about $8,000 each year and will find other sources to cover that amount.

"We recognize the value of fresh and local food, and we want to support the local economy," Demory said. "We don't want those farmers to go away."

Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com