Kansas food banks, produce farmers blindsided by USDA's $1B funding cut
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The United States Department of Agriculture cut $1 billion of federal funds dedicated to two programs. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program is geared toward Kansas schools. Meanwhile, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) targets local food banks.
The goal was to incentivize local organizations to purchase from Kansas farmers. In the case of the Kansas Food Bank, it kept them buying produce in-state.
The LFPA helped to open additional markets for Kansas produce. Because of the state's climate, fresh fruits and vegetables are difficult to grow. With the program hitting the chopping block, Kansas produce growers will likely be a rarer sight, and the locally stocked shelves of the Kansas Food Bank may soon need a new source.
'There's nothing better for a healthy diet than fresh produce, right? And you take that away,' Kansas Food Bank CEO Brian Walker said.
The program, which started in 2023, has been paying dividends in its two-year lifespan, according to Walker. In 2024, the food bank spent $1.7 million in federal funds on Kansas-grown produce.
'We'll try to do our best to purchase them locally, but it's just not feasible because they're not going to grow any extra product because they know that we're not here to buy it this year,' Walker said.
USDA cancels $1B funding for local food programs and schools, will hit Kansas farms
He says the LFPA succeeded in its goal of enriching Kansas farmers. Keeping those dollars within state lines also encouraged those farmers to diversify their crops or grow a surplus.
'We were able to get a real fresh product to them. Most of the time, we picked it that morning,' Ron Jirak, with Jirak Brothers Produce, said.
For Jirak, the surplus is around 10% of his crop.
'If we'd have known, say, back in October, November that this program wasn't going to be there, we just wouldn't have ordered plants and seed and materials for production in the Spring,' he said.
The program's cancellation leaves food banks without the funds to buy the excess, putting producers into limbo.
'I have to find a place for the 10% now because I'm kind of locked into my production at this time,' Jirak said.
Having extra products and nowhere to put them away hurts a supplier's bottom line and a distributor's clients.
'In the past, we were able to put that food on the table, they didn't have to buy it at the grocery store, and they could spend those dollars on other things,' Walker said.
He says the food bank will have to ramp up its fundraising efforts without the additional federal funds. Jirak says that even though he's disappointed and expects to feel the loss, he's confident they'll pull through.
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