MADISON (WKOW) — Farmers and food pantries in Wisconsin are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore local food assistance programs.
The USDA announced it’s terminating the 2025 Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, which helps food banks buy produce and other food from local farms and producers. According to the Wisconsin Farmers Union, this will harm nearly 300 farms in the Badger state.
From 2023 to 2024, 289 Wisconsin farms took part in the LFPA, providing $4.2 million worth of food to 254 food pantries.
The USDA is also ending the Local Food for Schools (LFS) program. The program received $3.4 million in funding from the federal government but was administered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. LFS helped schools buy food directly from farmers.
The Wisconsin Farmers Union said part of the problem with the USDA ending the programs now is that farmers have already bought supplies for 2025.
“Producers have already invested in seeds, inputs, and infrastructure to meet anticipated demand based on USDA and state plans for 2025 implementation,” said Darin Von Ruden, the president of Wisconsin Farmers Union. “Cutting this funding now not only disrupts their operations but also weakens the entire local food system that serves schools, food pantries, and communities in need.”
The executive director of Marbleseed, a nonprofit that helps farmers transition to sustainable and organic farming methods, said the LFPS and LFS programs have been beneficial for people in the Badger State.
“Wisconsin has seen the profound positive impact of small farms feeding their communities healthy, local food through Wisconsin’s LFPA,” Lori Stern said. “Farmers gained access to a reliable wholesale market and were able to grow their farm businesses.”
The Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative of Waupaca, which is owned by farmers and serves more than 400 Wisconsin farmers as a provider of transport and distribution services under LFPA, said the impacts of cutting the programs aren’t limited to individual farms.
“If the LFPA is not restored, years of building the local farmer-to-market infrastructure…will be completely thrown out the window,” Tara Turner-Roberts, the general manager of the Food Hub, said. “LFPA and LFS has really helped strengthen markets for farm products and provided transport and logistics. Without the LFPA and LFS funding it will take years for farmers to build a dependable and effective local foods distribution system in Wisconsin.”
Feeding Wisconsin, a statewide association of food banks that provides food to pantries in every county in the state, is also against cutting the programs.
Executive Director Jackie Anderson said Feeding Wisconsin food banks distribute more than 155,000 pounds of Wisconsin food products bought with LFPA funding.
“At a time of significantly increased need for food bank services, coupled with limited resources for the charitable food network and local food producers, we are concerned and disheartened by the elimination of the LFPA program,” she said.
USDA said the programs are a legacy of the pandemic and no longer supported the agency’s priorities.
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