Local Food, Local Care
The abrupt pulling of USDA funding from Iowa's local food system
I became a farmer, right out of college, from a place of idealism and activism. I wanted to do something tangible that made the world better. I wanted to be embedded in a place-based community and to contribute to that place. And so I set about learning how to grow food, which is a PhD’s amount of interdisciplinary, hands-on study about soil, seeds, seasons, logistics, finances, my own body’s capacities, land access, legalities, conflict management, ecology, marketing, tractor mechanics, and a whole lot more.
I started that journey sixteen years ago (!), and when I get stuck in the weeds, literal or metaphorical, I try to remind myself of why I do what I do. My idealism has shifted with what I’ve experienced though these years, but it’s still there: now I farm because I believe that building local systems of resilience that include entire food webs, as well as vibrant culture and connection, is what will keep humanity going. Both practically, as in, it will keep humans alive if we can build these systems, but also spiritually, as in, when we aren’t connected to what keeps us alive or to each other, our humanity is lost. So, I keep farming, I keep my hands in the soil, both because it’s good for my soul and also because I believe that this work can build something that supports my corner of the world and helps it to thrive.
When supply chains were disrupted at the beginning of COVID shutdowns, I had a glimmer of the possibility and power of local food farming. People actually needed us! In fact, people needed more of us! Our farm started implementing a “solidarity share” program along with our CSA (community supported agriculture) shares—people could pay a little extra for their CSA and we would share that value in the form of fresh vegetables with food pantries and individuals who needed that support. It felt like a solid start to a community effort of supporting people’s food needs by investing in local farms.
In 2022, the USDA put out the Local Food Procurement Assistance (LFPA) program, as well as the Local Food for Schools (LFS) program, that ramped that effort up on a federal level. Through this grant in Iowa, different food hubs around the state purchased food from local farmers at good prices and distributed it to food pantries, day care centers, and schools. The grant both got better food into food pantries and supported local farmers in scaling up their operations to meet demand.
I remember it feeling too good to be true when I first heard about the LFPA and LFS. After years of being a specialty crop grower, I had given up any expectation that the government would invest in my work, even as my sense of the importance of this work was magnified. But as the program rolled out in Iowa, it was true: the federal government was putting money to use in an efficient and forward-thinking way, impacting real people’s lives in rural and urban communities, allowing our farms to hire more people and grow more food and invest in better infrastructure and become more resilient, and that food was going where we as farmers wanted it to go: to people in our communities who wanted to eat it!
At Humble Hands Harvest, for the past three seasons, we sold around $10,000 worth of food each year through those grants, delivering it both to the Iowa Food Hub to have it distributed to schools and food banks, and directly to immigrant families in Postville. As a farmer working under slim profit margins within capitalism, I can’t make a practice of giving away food, but it’s a joy to be paid to bring my food to people who want it and value it, regardless of their ability to pay. I wish our local food economy was more like that!
This week, the news broke that the USDA is cancelling the LFPA/LFS grants. Iowa had been promised $11.3 million in funds for the next three years, but no longer. It is devastating that this funding was pulled, but also not surprising given the current administration. Farms like mine, with 10-15% of our sales going through this grant, as well as food hubs across the state, are scrambling to pivot. And we will! The past several years of this funding have made more institutional buyers aware of local food options, and we hope that lots of schools will continue to source locally through our food hubs even without the extra dollars. Most of the food that we grow will still find a home, whether through these wholesale accounts, through farmers market, or through our CSA.
And, I plan to hold out hope for effective use of government funds in the future. Ideally, when a new farm bill is passed, a local food purchasing program like this one will be part of it. I will be advocating for the restoration of this program with my Senators and Representative. Even within the Iowa state government there are lots of opportunities to expand support for local food, such as investing in the Choose Iowa program.
On a more personal level, too, there are lots of actions that Iowans can take to support their local food systems. In northeast Iowa, the Iowa Food Hub is a nonprofit that is in a position to take donations to very practically support the connection between farmers and eaters. My farm, Humble Hands Harvest, is ramping up our efforts to collect solidarity shares so that we can continue to deliver food to immigrant families in Postville. And I encourage everyone across Iowa and beyond to make a local food plan for the upcoming season. Will you join a CSA, put a farmers market into your weekly routine, prioritize in-season vegetables and fruits at a local co-op or grocery store, or buy a whole lamb or hog or steer from a local pasture-based producer? The options are abundant and delicious, but they require intention and commitment on the part of eaters!
The LFPA and LFS programs were truly great while they lasted, and I have some hope that they’ll come around again once our federal government knocks itself back into its senses. Until that time, though, I’ll be farming like I always have, because building an enterprise that can work the magic of turning seeds into food for people is the most meaningful work I know. Thanks to all of you advocates and supporters of local food, and especially big thanks to all the farmers out there! Our work will never not be needed.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
I’m proud to be part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Each Sunday, Julie Gammack shares a roundup of articles that collaborative members have written in the past week. Check out the most recent roundup, here.